September 1 7,2015

Ms. Janet G. McCabe Assistant Adm ini s trator , Office of Air and Radiation U.S. Environmental Protection Agency Headquarters 1200 Pennsylvania Avenue, N. W. Mail Code 6101A Washington , DC 20460
Dear Ms

. McCabe : On behalf of Co leto Creek Power, LP (CC P) , e nclosed for consideration is information that supports th e designation of the area surro unding the Coleta Creek Power Station in Goliad County, Texas as attainment for the Nationa l Ambient A ir Quality Standard (NAAQS) for sulfur dioxide (S02 ) set in 20 10 at 196 microgram s p er cubic meter (J.lg/m3 ) as a 1-hour average. We
s ubmit this information in response to the r e quest found in your letter dated March 20, 2015 , to t h e Honorab le Bryan W. Shaw, Chairman, Texas Commission on Env ironmental Quality (TCEQ). This information supports the TCEQ's conti nu ed recommendation that the area be designated as unclassifiable/attainment for th e 1-hour S02 NAAQS based primarily on the latest monitoring data and secon darily on source modeling conducted by the TCEQ. CCP owns and operates the Co1eto Creek Power Plant. The Co leta Creek Power Plant includes one coal-fired , steam-e lectric generating unit with a total power production capacity of 630 megawatts. In operation since 1980 , the Cole to Creek Power Plant provides electricity to approximately 400,000 homes , emp lo ys 85 operators and staff, and is an important part of the North American assets and opera tion s of CCP's corporate affiliate GDF SUEZ Energy North America. GDF SUEZ E nergy North America manages a range of energy businesses in the U.S. , Mexico, and Canada, including e lectricity ge ne ration and cogeneration, natural gas and liquefied natural gas distribution and sale s, and retai l energy sa les and related services to commercial and industrial customers. CCP maintains that the area surrounding o ur faci l ity must be designated as attainment or unclassifiabl e/attainm e n t for S02. Both of these options are availab le to EPA under the Clean Air Act and we are aware of no ev idence that the ambient air near our station exceeds the primary S02 NAAQS. None of the regulatory monitors in Texas are s ho wi ng violations of the S02 NAAQS in c luding the certified monitor in nearby Nueces Count y. An attainment or unclassifiable designation is clearly appropriate in these circumstances

. The TCEQ ' s unclassifiable/attainment recommendation for Goliad County is a l so s upported by separate AE RMOD modeling ana lyses conducted by TCEQ and ERM Consulting & Engineering , Inc. (ERM) on behalfofCCP.Ms. Janet G. McCabe 2 Sep te mber 17, 2015

• First, as do cum e nt e d in the Sta te of Texas ' Se pt embe r 20 1 5 su bmittal to EPA , 1 the predicted m ax imum 

## so 2 design value assoc ia ted with actual emi ss ions of 

## so2 from o ur s tation and n ea rby so urces is on ly 99 J.tg/m3

, which a pproxi mat el y 5 0 % of the S02 standard of 196 J.tg/m3

. Impo rtan tl y, thi s a ir qual ity-protective resu lt was reached with backgro und S02 levels as measured at the ambie nt monitoring statio n in Nueces County, Texas , and the inh erently conservat ive nature of AERMOD analyses, which tend to overpredict ambient air concentrations. T he State's source modeling relied on 2012-2014 meteorologi cal data and actua l emissions from the plant , consisten t w it h t h e latest EPA rules and guidance on 

## so2 dispersion modeling.

• Second, CC P co mmi ss ione d ERM to p erfo rm an ind epe nd ent AE RMOD analy s i s using even more refined in puts to eval uate w h ether the plant 's e missio n s a d verse l y affect attainm e nt of t he S02 standard. ERM's modeling results , including nearby sou r ces and background 

## so2 levels, identified maximum impacts of lll J.tg/m 

## 3 ' wh ic h is also well below the 

## so2 s tandard

. CCP apprec i ates your co n sideration of th i s information. Based on EPA's p rior responses to prior FO I A requests , we understand that EPA h as no source modeling information that sugges t s that the Co leto Creek P ower Station exceeds the S0 2 NAAQS. If any s u ch inf o rm a tion is submitted to EPA, we res p ectfu ll y request th e op portunit y to rev iew it and prov id e o ur views on the modeling approach. I f you wou ld like to discuss further , please do not hesitate to contact Kev in Cahi ll at (713) 636-1078 or me at (713) 636-1027

..

Attac hments S incerely,



# ~~t:~ Vice Pr es ident ofCo leto GP, LLC, as Ge n eral Partner of Cole to Creek Power , LP Fo r Co leto Creek Power, L P

cc : Ron Curry, Regio n a l Admi ni strator, EPA Region 6 Guy Donaldson, C hie f, Air Planning Section, EPA Reg ion 6 Bryan W. S haw, Ph.D., P.E

. , Cha irman , Texas Co mmi ssion on E nvironmental Quality

1 M emorandum from Daniel Menende z to David Br ymer, Subject: Modeling Ana l ysis of Sulfu r Dioxide for Co leto Creek Power , LP

- Colet o Cree k Power Sta ti on (RN I 002269 19) (June 5, 20 15).