Vol. 79 Thursday, 

No. 137 July 17, 2014 

Part V 

Environmental Protection Agency 

40 CFR Part 49 

General Permits and Permits by Rule for the Federal Minor New Source 

Review Program in Indian Country; Proposed Rule 


emcdonald on DSK67QTVN1PROD with PROPOSALS5
41846 Federal Register / Vol. 79, No. 137 / Thursday, July 17, 2014 / Proposed Rules 

ENVIRONMENTAL PROTECTION 

AGENCY 

40 CFR Part 49 

[EPA–HQ–OAR–2011–0151; FRL–9913–50– 

OAR] 

RIN 2060–AR98 

General Permits and Permits by Rule 

for the Federal Minor New Source 

Review Program in Indian Country 

AGENCY: Environmental Protection 

Agency (EPA). 

ACTION: Proposed rule. 

SUMMARY: The Environmental Protection 

Agency is proposing general permits for 

use in Indian country pursuant to the 

Indian Country Minor New Source 

Review (NSR) rule for new or modified 

true minor sources in the following six 

source categories: Concrete batch plants, 

boilers, stationary spark ignition 

engines, stationary compression ignition 

engines, graphic arts and printing 

operations, and sawmills. In the 

alternative, the EPA is also proposing a 

permit by rule for use in Indian country 

for new or modified true minor sources 

in one of the six source categories: 

Graphic arts and printing operations. 

DATES: Comments must be received on 

or before August 18, 2014. 

Public Hearing. We will hold a public 

hearing on August 7, 2014. 

Submit your comments, identified by 

Docket ID No. EPA–HQ–OAR–2011– 

0151, by one of the following methods: 

• http://www.regulations.gov: Follow 

the on-line instructions for submitting 

comments. 

• Email: a-and-r-docket@epa.gov. 

Include Docket ID No. EPA–HQ–OAR– 

2011–0151 in the subject line of the 

message. 

• Fax: (202) 566–9744, attention 

Docket ID No. EPA–HQ–OAR–2011– 

0151. 

• Mail: Attention Docket ID No. EPA– 

HQ–OAR–2011–0151, EPA, Mailcode: 

28221T, 1200 Pennsylvania Ave. NW., 

Washington, DC 20460. Please include a 

total of two copies. 

• Hand Delivery: The EPA Docket 

Center, Public Reading Room, WJC West 

Building, Room 3334, 1301 Constitution 

Ave. NW., Washington, DC 20460, 

Attention Docket ID No. EPA–HQ– 

OAR–2011–0151. 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–HQ–OAR–2011– 

0151. The EPA’s policy is that all 

comments received will be included in 

the public docket without change and 

may be made available online at http:// 

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 http:// 

www.regulations.gov or email. The 

http://www.regulations.gov Web site is 

an ‘‘anonymous access’’ system, which 

means the EPA will not know your 

identity or contact information unless 

you provide it in the body of your 

comment. If you send an email 

comment directly to the EPA without 

going through http:// 

www.regulations.gov, your email 

address will be automatically captured 

and 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, the 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 the EPA 

cannot read your comment due to 

technical difficulties and cannot contact 

you for clarification, the EPA may not 

be able to consider your comment. 

Electronic files should avoid the use of 

special characters, any form of 

encryption, and be free of any defects or 

viruses. For additional instructions on 

submitting comments, go to Section I.B. 

of the SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION

section of this document. 

Docket: The EPA has established a 

docket for this rulemaking under Docket 

ID Number EPA–HQ–OAR–2011–0151. 

All documents in the docket are listed 

in the http://www.regulations.gov index. 

Although listed in the index, some 

information is not publicly available, 

e.g., CBI or other information whose 

disclosure is restricted by statute. 

Certain other material, such as 

copyrighted material, will be publicly 

available only in hard copy. Publicly 

available docket materials are available 

either electronically in http:// 

www.regulations.gov or under Docket ID 

Number EPA–HQ–OAR–2011–0151, 

EPA/DC, WJC West Building, Room 

3334, 1301 Constitution Ave. NW., 

Washington, DC. The Public Reading 

Room is open from 8:30 a.m. to 4:30 

p.m., Monday through Friday, excluding 

legal holidays. The telephone number 

for the Public Reading Room is (202) 

566–1744, and the telephone number for 

the Air Docket is (202) 564–1742. 

ADDRESSES: The public hearing will be 

held on August 7, 2014, at the U.S. 

Environmental Protection Agency, 109 

T.W. Alexander Drive, Research 

Triangle Park, NC. The hearing will 

convene at 9:00 a.m. and end at 5:00 

p.m. or after the last registered speaker 

has spoken, whichever is earlier. A 

lunch break is scheduled from 12:00 

p.m. until 1:00 p.m. The EPA’s Web site 

for the rulemaking, which includes the 

proposal and information about the 

hearing, can be found at: http:// 

www.epa.gov/air/tribal/tribalnsr.html. 

The hearing will provide interested 

parties the opportunity to present data, 

views or arguments concerning the 

proposed action. The EPA will make 

every effort to accommodate all speakers 

who arrive and register. Because this 

hearing is being held at a U.S. 

government facility, individuals 

planning to attend the hearing should be 

prepared to show valid picture 

identification to the security staff in 

order to gain access to the meeting 

room. Please note that the REAL ID Act, 

passed by Congress in 2005, established 

new requirements for entering federal 

facilities. These requirements will take 

effect July 21, 2014. If your driver’s 

license is issued by Alaska, American 

Samoa, Arizona, Kentucky, Louisiana, 

Maine, Massachusetts, Minnesota, 

Montana, New York, Oklahoma, or the 

state of Washington, you must present 

an additional form of identification to 

enter the federal buildings where the 

public hearings will be held. Acceptable 

alternative forms of identification 

include: Federal employee badges, 

passports, enhanced driver’s licenses 

and military identification cards. We 

will list any additional acceptable forms 

of identification at: http://www.epa.gov/ 

air/tribal/tribalnsr.html. In addition, 

you will need to obtain a property pass 

for any personal belongings you bring 

with you. Upon leaving the building, 

you will be required to return this 

property pass to the security desk. No 

large signs will be allowed in the 

building, cameras may only be used 

outside of the building and 

demonstrations will not be allowed on 

federal property for security reasons. 

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Mr. 

Christopher Stoneman, Outreach and 

Information Division, Office of Air 

Quality Planning and Standards (C– 

304–01), Environmental Protection 

Agency, Research Triangle Park, North 

Carolina, 27711, telephone number 

(919) 541–0823, facsimile number (919) 

541–0072, email address: 

stoneman.chris@epa.gov. 

If you would like to present oral 

testimony at the public hearing, please 

register no later than June 27, 2014, by 

contacting: Ms. Carolyn Childers, 


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Outreach and Information Division, 

Office of Air Quality Planning and 

Standards (C304–01), Environmental 

Protection Agency, Research Triangle 

Park, North Carolina 27711; telephone 

number (919) 541–5604; fax number 

(919) 541–0072; email address: 

childers.carolyn@epa.gov. If using 

email, please provide the following 

information: Name, affiliation, address, 

email address and telephone and fax 

numbers. All speakers are encouraged to 

pre-register in order to speak at the 

public hearing. Registration is not 

required to attend and listen to the 

testimony at the public hearing. 

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: 

Throughout this document, ‘‘reviewing 

authority,’’ ‘‘we,’’ ‘‘us’’ and ‘‘our’’ refer 

to the EPA. The information in this 

preamble is organized as follows: 

Table of Contents 

I. General Information 

A. Does this action apply to me? 

B. What should I consider as I prepare my 

comments to the EPA? 

1. Submitting CBI 

2. Tips for Preparing Comments 

C. Where can I get a copy of this document 

and other related information? 

D. What acronyms, abbreviations and units 

are used in this preamble? 

II. Purpose 

A. Proposed Action 

B. Areas Where the EPA Is Seeking 

Comment 

III. Background 

A. Tribal Air Rule 

B. Indian Country Minor NSR Rule 

1. What is the Indian Country Minor NSR 

Rule? 

2. What is a true minor source and how 

does it differ from a synthetic minor 

source? 

3. What are the minor NSR thresholds? 

4. What is a general permit? 

C. What is a permit by rule? 

IV. Description of General Permit Program in 

Indian Country and the EPA’s Use of 

This Package To Satisfy the General 

Permit Issuance Process 

A. General Permit Program 

B. How do sources apply for general 

permits? 

C. What are the required permitting 

elements? 

V. Source Categories for Which Proposed 

General Permits in Indian Country Are 

Available for Public Review 

A. Notice of Proposed General Permits 

B. Structure of General Permits 

C. The EPA’s Control Technology Review 

D. Scope of Coverage Under Each General 

Permit 

E. Surrogate Annual Allowable Emission 

Limitations 

F. Requirements of the Endangered Species 

Act and the National Historic 

Preservation Act 

VI. Summary of Specific Terms and 

Conditions of the General Permits and 

Request for Comment 

A. Concrete Batch Plants 

1. What is a concrete batch plant? 

2. What is in the proposed General Air 

Quality Permit for new or modified true 

minor source concrete batch plants? 

3. Request for Comment on the Proposed 

General Air Quality Permit for New or 

Modified True Minor Source Concrete 

Batch Plants 

B. Boilers 

1. What is a boiler? 

2. What is in the proposed General Air 

Quality Permit for New or Modified True 

Minor Source Boilers? 

3. Request for Comment on the Proposed 

General Air Quality Permit for New or 

Modified True Minor Source Boilers 

C. Stationary Compression Ignition and 

Spark Ignition Engines 

1. What are compression ignition and spark 

ignition engines? 

2. What is in the proposed General Air 

Quality Permits for New or Modified 

True Minor Source Spark Ignition and 

Compression Ignition Engines? 

3. Request for Comment on the Proposed 

General Air Quality Permits for New or 

Modified True Minor Source Spark 

Ignition and Compression Ignition 

Engines 

D. Graphic Arts and Printing Operations 

1. What is a graphic arts and printing 

operation? 

2. What is in the proposed General Air 

Quality Permit for New or Modified True 

Minor Source Graphic Arts and Printing 

Operations? 

3. Request for Comment on the Proposed 

General Air Quality Permit for New or 

Modified True Minor Source Graphic 

Arts and Printing Operations 

E. Sawmills 

1. What is a sawmill facility? 

2. What is in the proposed General Air 

Quality Permit for New or Modified True 

Minor Source Sawmill Facilities? 

3. Request for Comment on the Proposed 

General Air Quality Permit for New or 

Modified True Minor Source Sawmill 

Facilities 

VII. Description of the EPA’s Proposed 

Permit by Rule Program in Indian 

Country 

A. What is a permit by rule? 

B. How would a permit by rule program 

operate in Indian country? 

C. Requirements of the ESA and NHPA 

VIII. Proposed Permits by Rule 

IX. Implementation Documents and Tools 

X. Additional Area Where Comment Is Being 

Sought 

XI. Proposed Rule Change to the Indian 

Country Minor NSR Rule 

XII. Statutory and Executive Order Reviews 

A. Executive Order 12866: Regulatory 

Planning and Review and Executive 

Order 13563: Improving Regulation and 

Regulatory Review 

B. Paperwork Reduction Act 

C. Regulatory Flexibility Act 

D. Unfunded Mandates Reform Act 

E. Executive Order 13132: Federalism 

F. Executive Order 13175: Consultation 

and Coordination With Indian Tribal 

Governments 

G. Executive Order 13045: Protection of 

Children From Environmental Health 

Risks and Safety Risks 

H. Executive Order 13211: Actions That 

Significantly Affect Energy Supply, 

Distribution, or Use 

I. National Technology Transfer and 

Advancement Act 

J. Executive Order 12898: Federal Actions 

To Address Environmental Justice in 

Minority Populations and Low-Income 

Populations 

I. General Information 

A. Does this action apply to me? 

Entities potentially affected by this 

proposed action include the EPA, tribal 

governments that are delegated 

administrative authority to assist the 

EPA with the implementation of the 

tribal minor source air permitting 

program and owners, and operators of 

facilities located in Indian country as 

defined in 18 U.S.C. 1151 and as 

provided in the NSR rule from the 

following source categories: 

TABLE 1—SOURCE CATEGORIES

Category NAICS Examples of Regulated Entities 

Boilers ........................................................ 11 **** ............ Agriculture, Forestry, Fishing and Hunting. 

2211 ** .......... Electric Power Generation. 

311 *** ........... Food Manufacturing. 

321 *** ........... Wood Product Manufacturing (except sawmills). 

327 *** ........... Nonmetallic Mineral Product Manufacturing (except ready-mix concrete). 

424 *** ........... Wholesale Trade, Nondurable Goods. 

611110 .......... Elementary and Secondary Schools. 

611210 .......... Junior Colleges. 

611310 .......... Colleges, Universities, and Professional Schools. 

62   ............ Health Care and Social Assistance. 


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1 In this document, reviewing authority refers to 

an EPA regional office. However, tribes can become 

TABLE 1—SOURCE CATEGORIES—Continued 

Category NAICS Examples of Regulated Entities 

721120 .......... Casino Hotels. 

813110 .......... Religious Organizations. 

92 ** ** ............ Public Administration. 

Concrete Batch Plants ............................... 327320 .......... Central Mixed Concrete Manufacturing. 

327320 .......... Concrete Batch Plants (including temporary). 

327320 .......... Ready Mix Concrete Manufacturing and Distributing. 

327320 .......... Transit Mixed Concrete Manufacturing. 

327320 .......... Truck Mixed Concrete Manufacturing. 

327331 .......... Concrete Manufacturing: All Types of Blocks and Bricks. 

327332 .......... Concrete Manufacturing: All Types of Pipe and Conduit. 

327390 .......... Concrete Manufacturing: All Structural Forms. 

Engines (Spark Ignition and Compression 

Ignition).

2211** ...........

622110 ..........

Electric Power Generation. 

Medical and Surgical Hospitals. 

Graphic Arts and Printing Operations ....... 323111 .......... Printing: Flexographic, Rotogravure, Gravure, Letterpress, Lithographic, Digital. 

323113 .......... Commercial Printing, Newspapers, Print Shops. 

323117 .......... Printing Books. 

Sawmills .................................................... 321113 .......... Sawmills. 

This list is not intended to be 

exhaustive, but rather provides a guide 

for readers regarding entities likely to be 

potentially affected by this action. To 

determine whether your facility could 

be affected by this action, you should 

examine the applicability criteria in the 

final minor NSR program for Indian 

country (40 Code of Federal Regulations 

(CFR) 49.153). If you have any questions 

regarding the applicability of this action 

to a particular entity, contact the 

appropriate person listed under FOR

FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT. 

B. What should I consider as I prepare 

my comments to the EPA? 

1. Submitting CBI 

Do not submit this information to the 

EPA through http://www.regulations.gov 

or email. Clearly mark the part or all of 

the information that you claim to be 

CBI. For CBI information in a disk or CD 

ROM that you mail to the EPA, mark the 

outside of the disk or CD ROM as CBI 

and then identify electronically within 

the disk or CD ROM the specific 

information that is claimed as CBI. In 

addition to one complete version of the 

comment that includes information 

claimed as CBI, a copy of the comment 

that does not contain the information 

claimed as CBI must be submitted for 

inclusion in the public docket. 

Information so marked will not be 

disclosed except in accordance with 

procedures set forth in 40 CFR part 2. 

Send or deliver information identified 

as CBI only to the following address: 

Roberto Morales, OAQPS Document 

Control Officer (C404–02), Office of Air 

Quality Planning and Standards, EPA, 

Research Triangle Park, North Carolina 

27711, Attention Docket ID No. EPA– 

HQ–OAR–2011–0151. 

2. Tips for Preparing Comments 

When submitting comments, 

remember to: 

• Identify the rulemaking by docket 

number and other identifying 

information (subject heading, Federal 

Register date and page number). 

• Follow directions—The agency may 

ask you to respond to specific questions 

or organize comments by referencing a 

CFR part or section number. 

• Explain why you agree or disagree, 

suggest alternatives, and substitute 

language for your requested changes. 

• Describe any assumptions and 

provide any technical information and/ 

or data that you used. 

• If you estimate potential costs or 

burdens, explain how you arrived at 

your estimate in sufficient detail to 

allow for it to be reproduced. 

• Provide specific examples to 

illustrate your concerns and suggest 

alternatives. 

• Explain your views as clearly as 

possible, avoiding the use of profanity 

or personal threats. 

• Make sure to submit your 

comments by the comment period 

deadline identified. 

C. Where can I get a copy of this 

document and other related 

information? 

In addition to being available in the 

docket, an electronic copy of this 

proposal will also be available on the 

World Wide Web. Following signature 

by the EPA Administrator, a copy of this 

notice will be posted on the regulations 

and standards section of the NSR home 

page located at http://www.epa.gov/nsr 

and on the tribal NSR page at http:// 

www.epa.gov/air/tribal/tribalnsr.html. 

D. What acronyms, abbreviations and 

units are used in this preamble? 

CAA Clean Air Act 

CO2 Carbon dioxide 

CO Carbon monoxide 

EPA Environmental Protection Agency 

ESA Endangered Species Act 

FIP Federal Implementation Plan 

GDFs Gasoline dispensing facilities 

HAPs Hazardous air pollutants 

hp Horsepower 

ICE Internal combustion engine 

NAAQS National Ambient Air Quality 

Standards 

NO2 Nitrogen dioxide 

NOX Nitrogen oxides 

NSR New Source Review 

NHPA National Historic Preservation 

Act 

NTTAA National Technology Transfer 

and Advancement Act 

PM Particulate matter 

PSD Prevention of Significant 

Deterioration 

PTE Potential to emit 

SIP State Implementation Plan 

SO2 Sulfur dioxide 

tpy Tons per year 

UMRA Unfunded Mandates Reform 

Act 

VOC Volatile organic compounds 

II. Purpose 

A. Proposed Action 

In July 2011, the EPA issued the 

Indian Country Minor NSR rule that 

established, among other things, the 

requirements and process for the 

preconstruction permitting of minor 

sources in Indian country. Under the 

rule, on or after September 2, 2014, an 

owner or operator must obtain a 

preconstruction permit from the 

reviewing authority 1 if the source will 


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reviewing authorities if they decide to assume 

responsibility for implementing the minor NSR 

program in their area and are either delegated 

authority to implement the Indian Country Minor 

NSR rule or establish and obtain the EPA’s approval 

of their own minor source program. 

2True minor source means a source that emits, or 

has the potential to emit, regulated NSR pollutants 

in amounts that are less than the major source 

thresholds under either the Prevention of 

Significant Deterioration program at 40 CFR 52.21, 

or the Major NSR Program for Nonattainment Areas 

in Indian Country at 40 CFR 49.166 through 49.173, 

but equal to or greater than the minor NSR 

thresholds in 40 CFR 49.153, without the need to 

take an enforceable restriction to reduce its 

potential to emit (PTE) to such levels. The PTE 

includes fugitive emissions, to the extent that they 

are quantifiable, only if the source belongs to one 

of the 28 source categories listed in part 51, 

Appendix S, paragraph II.A.4(iii) or 40 CFR 

52.21(b)(1)(iii), as applicable. 

3 ‘‘General Permits and Permits by Rule for the 

Federal Minor New Source Review Program in 

Indian Country,’’ U.S. Environmental Protection 

Agency, January 14, 2014 (79 FR 2546), http:// 

www.gpo.gov/fdsys/pkg/FR-2014-01-14/pdf/2013- 

30345.pdf. 

4 ‘‘General Permits and Permits by Rule for the 

Federal Minor New Source Review Program in 

Indian Country,’’ U.S. Environmental Protection 

Agency, January 14, 2014 (79 FR 2546), http:// 

www.gpo.gov/fdsys/pkg/FR-2014-01-14/pdf/2013- 

30345.pdf. 

construct a new true minor source,2 or 

will modify an existing true minor 

source in Indian country. The rule also 

specified the process and requirements 

for using general permits as a 

streamlined permitting approach to 

authorize construction and 

modifications at true minor sources. 

General permits streamline the 

preconstruction permitting of new or 

modified true minor sources because 

they involve the issuance of one permit 

that can apply to multiple stationary 

sources that have similar emissions 

units. 

On January 14, 2014, the EPA 

proposed general permits 3 for use in 

Indian country pursuant to the Indian 

Country Minor NSR rule for new or 

modified true minor sources in the 

following five source categories: Hot 

mix asphalt plants; stone quarrying, 

crushing, and screening facilities; auto 

body repair and miscellaneous surface 

coating operations; gasoline dispensing 

facilities (GDFs); and petroleum dry 

cleaning facilities. In the alternative, the 

EPA also proposed permits by rule for 

use in Indian country for new or 

modified minor sources in three of the 

source categories: Auto body repair and 

miscellaneous surface coating 

operations; GDFs; and petroleum dry 

cleaning facilities. The EPA also 

proposed certain changes to the Indian 

Country Minor NSR rule. The proposed 

changes include: Extending the deadline 

by when true minor sources in the oil 

and gas sector must receive minor 

source NSR permits; and allowing 

general permits and permits by rule for 

specific categories to be used to create 

synthetic minor sources. In the prior 

action, we also sought comment on a 

number of issues, some of which relate 

to the source categories contained in 

this proposal. 

Today’s proposal addresses a second 

group of activities; the EPA is proposing 

the use of two types of minor NSR 

preconstruction permits to help 

streamline permitting of true minor 

sources that construct or modify in 

Indian country and that belong to one of 

six additional source categories. The 

first type of permit is a general permit. 

A general permit is a document that the 

EPA will make available online that will 

contain all of the emissions limitations, 

monitoring, recordkeeping and 

reporting requirements to which a 

source in a given source category would 

be subject. Sources seeking coverage 

under a tribal general permit will need 

to submit a request for coverage or 

application to the EPA. The second type 

is a permit by rule, which uses a 

regulatory-type structure to permit 

sources by pre-authorizing construction 

and modification activities carried out 

in accordance with the permit’s 

requirements. Sources seeking coverage 

under a tribal permit by rule must notify 

the EPA that it meets the terms of 

coverage and is complying with the 

permit’s conditions, but does not need 

to await approval of a request for 

coverage. 

As our preferred approach, we are 

proposing general permits for the six 

source categories: Concrete batch plants; 

boilers; stationary spark ignition 

engines; stationary compression ignition 

engines; graphic arts and printing 

operations; and sawmills. Specifically, 

we are proposing general permits for 

these source categories for permitting 

affected emissions units and emissionsgenerating activities in these source 

categories. As an alternative, for graphic 

arts and printing operations, the EPA is 

also requesting comment on whether, in 

lieu of establishing a general permit, we 

should instead adopt a permit by rule. 

We are making available various 

permit implementation documents and 

tools on which we request public 

comment. In a prior action 4 in which 

we also proposed general permits and 

permits by rule for certain source 

categories of minor sources in Indian 

country, we proposed the regulatory 

framework that the EPA will use to 

establish permits by rule. That proposed 

regulatory framework is also relevant 

here. 

B. Areas Where the EPA Is Seeking 

Comment 

In this proposal, we are seeking 

comment on the following areas: 

(1) All aspects of the permit 

documents and implementation tools of 

the following six source categories 

(Sections VI. and IX.): 

a. Concrete batch plants; 

b. Boilers; 

c. Stationary compression ignition 

engines; 

d. Stationary spark ignition engines; 

e. Graphic arts and printing 

operations; and 

f. Sawmills. 

(2) The appropriateness of using a 

streamlined general permit/permit by 

rule application for one source category 

(Section IX.): 

a. Graphic arts and printing 

operations. 

(3) Different aspects of the EPA’s 

conclusion on its control technology 

review that, because the control 

measures in this proposal are currently 

used by other similar sources in other 

areas of the country, the measures in the 

proposed permits are technically and 

economically feasible, and cost effective 

(Section V.); 

(4) The process for sources to address 

the requirements of the Endangered 

Species Act (ESA) and the National 

Historic Preservation Act (NHPA) with 

respect to the six categories in today’s 

proposal (Sections V. and VII.); 

(5) Use of throughput limits and 

capacity limits as surrogate for tons per 

year (tpy) allowable emission 

limitations, or, alternatively, 

establishment of annual allowable 

emission limitations for each pollutant, 

and the use of throughput limits as 

surrogate monitoring measures to 

demonstrate compliance with tpy 

annual allowable emission limitations 

(Sections V. and VI.); 

(6) Finalizing both permitting 

mechanisms for graphic arts and 

printing operations by providing 

authorization to construct or modify 

true minor sources in this category via 

permits by rule and by providing 

enforceable limitations to create 

synthetic minor sources in this category 

via general permits (Section X.); and 

(7) Proposed rule changes to the 

Indian Country Minor NSR rule in one 

area (Section XI.): 

a. Shortening the general permit 

application review process from 90 to 

45 days for one source category out of 

the six in this proposal for which the 

EPA believes it is appropriate: 

i. Graphic arts and printing 

operations. 

In this proposal, we are not seeking 

comment on several issues already 


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41850 Federal Register / Vol. 79, No. 137 / Thursday, July 17, 2014 / Proposed Rules 

5 ‘‘Indian Tribes: Air Quality Planning and 

Management,’’ U.S. Environmental Protection 

Agency, February 12, 1998 (63 FR 7254), http://

www.gpo.gov/fdsys/pkg/FR-1998-02-12/pdf/98- 

3451.pdf. 6 ‘‘Review of New Sources and Modifications in 

Indian Country,’’ U.S. Environmental Protection 

Agency, August 21, 2006 (71 FR 48696), http://

www.gpo.gov/fdsys/pkg/FR-2006-08-21/html/06- 

6926.htm. 

7 ‘‘Review of New Sources and Modifications in 

Indian Country,’’ U.S. Environmental Protection 

Agency, July 1, 2011 (76 FR 38748), https://

www.federalregister.gov/articles/2011/07/01/2011- 

14981/review-of-new-sources-and-modifications-inindian-country. 

8On January 17, 2014, the United States Court of 

Appeals for the District of Columbia Circuit issued 

an opinion and judgment vacating the Indian 

Country NSR rule with respect to non-reservation 

areas of Indian country. As a result, EPA does not 

currently have minor source NSR permitting 

authority in non-reservation areas of Indian country 

and any general permits and permits by rule issued 

under the Indian Country Minor NSR rule will not 

be immediately available in such areas of Indian 

country. Importantly, the court’s decision does not 

affect the Indian Country Minor NSR rule with 

respect to reservations, whether formal or informal, 

and any final general permits and permits by rule 

issued under the Indian Country Minor NSR rule 

will be available in those areas. The EPA is 

currently considering, but has not yet determined, 

how best to implement the court’s decision. 

proposed in the January 14, 2014, action 

that more broadly cover policy and 

other issues related generally to the 

functioning and use of general permits 

and permits by rule in Indian country. 

The Agency’s final decision on those 

issues, though, has the potential to 

impact sources in the source categories 

proposed in this action. Those issues 

include the following: 

(1) Several administrative aspects of 

general permits, including: 

a. Whether the EPA’s proposed 

approach of incorporating by reference 

each reviewing authority’s approval of a 

request for coverage into the general 

permit is necessary and appropriate; 

and 

b. The appropriateness of proposed 

permit terms related to the reviewing 

authority’s ability to reopen, revise, or 

terminate an individual approval of 

coverage under the general permit; 

(2) The regulatory framework that the 

EPA is proposing as an alternative to 

use to establish permits by rule and the 

streamlined review and issuance 

process that the EPA is proposing 

whereby a source can become covered 

by a permit by rule by notifying the EPA 

that it qualifies for the permit, meets the 

terms of coverage and is complying with 

the permit’s conditions (but not having 

to wait for the reviewing authority’s 

approval); 

(3) Proposal to change the policy in 

the Indian Country Minor NSR rule to 

allow the use of both general permits 

and permits by rule to create synthetic 

minor sources; 

(4) Use of more than one general 

permit and/or permit by rule for a 

source at a single location; 

(5) Additional source categories for 

which the EPA is planning to propose 

general permits and/or permits by rule; 

and 

(6) Proposed rule changes to the 

Indian Country Minor NSR rule in four 

areas in three provisions: 

a. Adjusting the deadline by which 

minor sources covered by a general 

permit need to obtain a preconstruction 

permit; 

b. Extending the permitting deadline 

for true minor sources within the oil 

and gas source category; 

c. Removing a provision to make clear 

that sources may seek coverage under a 

general permit as soon as it is effective 

and need not wait an additional 4 

months; and 

d. Adjusting the deadline for oil and 

gas sources for certain registrationrelated requirements to be consistent 

with the proposed permitting deadline 

extension. 

III. Background 

A. Tribal Air Rule 

On February 12, 1998,5 the EPA used 

its authority under section 301(d) of the 

Clean Air Act (CAA) to find that we 

would not treat tribal governments the 

same as states with respect to specific 

plan submittal and implementation 

deadlines under the CAA for National 

Ambient Air Quality Standards 

(NAAQS)-related requirements. This 

finding applied to many section 110 

requirements, including requirements 

under section 110(a)(2)(c) to submit a 

program to regulate the modification 

and construction of any stationary 

source as necessary to ensure that the 

NAAQS are achieved. Although we 

determined that Indian tribes were not 

obligated to implement a permitting 

program, the EPA also made clear that 

we continue to have a general obligation 

under the CAA to ensure the protection 

of air quality throughout Indian country. 

To that end, we also used our authority 

under sections 301(a) and 301(d)(4) to 

establish a requirement to promulgate 

such federal implementation plan (FIP) 

provisions as are necessary or 

appropriate to protect air quality in 

Indian country (40 CFR 49.11(a)). For a 

number of years, the only federal CAA 

NSR permitting program that applied in 

Indian country was the major NSR 

program for areas meeting the NAAQS 

(‘‘attainment’’ areas) or areas for which 

there is insufficient information to 

determine whether they meet the 

NAAQS (‘‘unclassifiable’’ areas). We 

call this program the Prevention of 

Significant Deterioration (PSD) program 

(40 CFR 52.21). No federal NSR 

permitting program has covered minor 

sources or major sources in 

nonattainment areas. Nor was there a 

readily available way for major sources 

to take enforceable limits and become 

synthetic minor sources. 

On August 21, 2006, the EPA 

proposed the regulation: ‘‘Review of 

New Sources and Modifications in 

Indian Country’’ (i.e., the Indian 

Country NSR rule).6 Within this 

regulation, the EPA proposed to protect 

air quality in Indian country by 

establishing a FIP program to regulate 

the modification and construction of 

minor stationary sources consistent with 

the requirements of section 110(a)(2)(c) 

of the CAA. We call this part of the 

Indian Country NSR rule the Indian 

Country Minor NSR rule. Under the 

Indian Country Minor NSR rule, we 

proposed to fill a regulatory gap and 

provide a mechanism for issuing 

preconstruction permits for the 

construction of new minor sources and 

certain modifications of major and 

minor sources in Indian country. In 

developing the rule, the EPA conducted 

extensive outreach and consultation and 

provided an extensive public comment 

period that ended on March 20, 2007. 

The comments we received provided 

detailed information specific to Indian 

country and the final Indian Country 

Minor NSR rule incorporated many of 

the suggestions we received. We 

promulgated final rules on July 1, 2011,7

and the FIP became effective on August 

30, 2011.8

B. Indian Country Minor NSR Rule 

1. What is the Indian Country Minor 

NSR rule? 

The Indian Country Minor NSR rule 

applies to new and modified minor 

stationary sources and to minor 

modifications at existing major 

stationary sources located in Indian 

country where there is no EPAapproved program in place. The rule 

also includes a pre-construction permits 

program for major sources proposing to 

construct in areas of Indian country that 

have not attained one or more NAAQS, 

i.e., nonattainment areas. After 

September 2, 2014, any new stationary 

sources that will emit, or will have the 

PTE, a regulated NSR pollutant in 

amounts that will be: (1) Equal to or 

greater than the minor NSR thresholds, 

established in the Indian Country Minor 

NSR rule; and (2) less than the amount 

that would qualify the source as a major 

source for purposes of the PSD or 

nonattainment major NSR programs, 


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9A source may, however, be subject to certain 

monitoring, recordkeeping and reporting (MRR) 

requirements under the major NSR programs, if the 

change has a reasonable possibility of resulting in 

a major modification. A source may be subject to 

both the Indian Country Minor NSR program and 

the reasonable possibility of being subject to the 

MRR requirements of the major NSR program(s). 

10Note that the current regulatory language in the 

Tribal Minor NSR rule does not address the use of 

general permits in this manner. 11 If part of a tribe’s area of Indian country is 

designated as attainment and another part as 

nonattainment, the applicable threshold for a 

proposed source or modification is determined 

based on the designation where the source would 

be located. If the source straddles the two areas, the 

more stringent thresholds apply. 

12 In extreme ozone nonattainment areas, section 

182(e)(2) of the CAA requires any change at a major 

source that results in any increase in emissions to 

be subject to major NSR permitting. In other words, 

any changes to existing major sources in extreme 

ozone nonattainment areas are subject to a ‘‘0’’ tpy 

threshold, but that threshold does not apply to 

minor sources. 

13 Id. 

must apply for and obtain a minor NSR 

permit before commencing construction 

of the new source. Likewise, any 

existing stationary source (minor or 

major) must apply for and obtain a 

minor NSR permit before commencing 

construction of a physical or operational 

change that will increase the allowable 

emissions of the stationary source by 

more than the specified minor NSR 

threshold amounts, if the change does 

not otherwise trigger the permitting 

requirements of the PSD or 

nonattainment major NSR program(s).9

Among other things, the Indian 

Country Minor NSR rule created a 

framework for the EPA to streamline the 

issuance of preconstruction permits to 

true minor sources by using general 

permits. We explain this framework 

further in the sections below. 

2. What is a true minor source and 

how does it differ from a synthetic 

minor source? 

‘‘True minor source’’ means a source 

that emits, or has the potential to emit, 

regulated NSR pollutants in amounts 

that are less than the major source 

thresholds under either the PSD 

program at 40 CFR 52.21, or the Major 

NSR program for Nonattainment Areas 

in Indian Country at 40 CFR 49.166 

through 49.173, but equal to or greater 

than the minor NSR thresholds in 40 

CFR 49.153, without the need to take an 

enforceable restriction to reduce its PTE 

to such levels. The PTE includes 

fugitive emissions, to the extent that 

they are quantifiable, only if the source 

belongs to one of the 28 source 

categories listed in 40 CFR part 51, 

Appendix S, paragraph II.A.4(iii) or 40 

CFR 52.21(b)(1)(iii), as applicable. For 

example, a hot mix asphalt facility, 

located in a sulfur dioxide (SO2) 

attainment area, that has a maximum 

potential to emit of 135 tpy of SO2,

without the need to take an enforceable 

restriction to reduce its PTE to such 

levels, would qualify as a true minor 

source. By contrast, ‘‘synthetic minor 

source’’ means a source that otherwise 

has the potential to emit regulated NSR 

pollutants in amounts that are at or 

above those for major sources, but that 

has taken a restriction so that its PTE is 

less than such amounts. Such 

restrictions must be enforceable as a 

legal and practical matter. For example, 

a hot mix asphalt facility, located in an 

SO2 attainment area, that has an 

unrestricted PTE of 270 tpy, but that is 

legally constrained to emit only 135 tpy 

of SO2 because the source has taken a 

throughput limit made enforceable 

through a permit (i.e., a limit on how 

much hot mix product it can produce), 

would qualify as a synthetic minor 

source. In the preamble to both the 

proposed and final Indian Country 

Minor NSR rule, the EPA indicated that 

it would not use general permits to 

allow otherwise major sources to create 

synthetic minor sources.10

3. What are the minor NSR thresholds? 

The ‘‘minor NSR thresholds’’ 

establish cutoff levels for each regulated 

NSR pollutant. If a source naturally has 

a PTE in amounts lower than the 

thresholds, then it is exempt from the 

Indian Country Minor NSR rule (see 

Table 2 and 40 CFR 49.153) for that 

pollutant. New or modified sources 

which naturally have a PTE in amounts 

that are: (1) Equal to or greater than the 

minor NSR thresholds; and (2) less than 

the major NSR thresholds (generally 100 

to 250 tpy) are ‘‘minor sources’’ of 

emissions and subject to the Indian 

Country Minor NSR rule requirements 

at 40 CFR 49.151 through 161. 

TABLE 2—MINOR NSR THRESHOLDS FOR SOURCES IN INDIAN COUNTRY 11

Regulated NSR pollutant 

Minor NSR 

thresholds for 

nonattainment 

areas 

(tpy) 

Minor NSR 

thresholds for 

attainment 

areas 

(tpy) 

Carbon monoxide (CO) ................................................................................................................................... 5 10 

Nitrogen oxides (NOX) ..................................................................................................................................... 12 5 10 

SO2 .................................................................................................................................................................. 5 10 

Volatile Organic Compounds (VOC) ............................................................................................................... 13 2 5 

PM (particulate matter) .................................................................................................................................... 5 10 

PM10 ................................................................................................................................................................. 1 5 

PM2.5 ................................................................................................................................................................ 0.6 3 

Lead ................................................................................................................................................................. 0.1 0.1 

Fluorides .......................................................................................................................................................... NA 1 

Sulfuric acid mist ............................................................................................................................................. NA 2 

Hydrogen sulfide (H2S) .................................................................................................................................... NA 2 

Total reduced sulfur (including H2S) ............................................................................................................... NA 2 

Reduced sulfur compounds (including H2S) ................................................................................................... NA 2 

Municipal waste combustor emissions ............................................................................................................ NA 2 

Municipal solid waste landfill emissions (measured as nonmethane organic compounds) ........................... NA 10 

4. What is a general permit? 

The Indian Country Minor NSR rule 

specified the process and requirements 

for using general permits to authorize 

construction of and modifications at 

true minor sources as a streamlined 

permitting approach. A general permit, 

for purposes of this action, is a permit 

document that contains standardized 

requirements that multiple stationary 

sources can use. The EPA may issue a 


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14 ‘‘Review of New Sources and Modifications in 

Indian Country,’’ U.S. Environmental Protection 

Agency, July 1, 2011 (76 FR 38770), https://

www.federalregister.gov/articles/2011/07/01/2011– 

14981/review-of-new-sources-and-modifications-inindian-country. 

15The Administrator delegated the authority to 

each of the EPA Regional Administrators to carry 

out all aspects of the Indian Country Minor NSR 

program, including issuing general permits and 

approving individual coverage under a general 

permit. 

general permit for categories of 

emissions units or stationary sources 

that are similar in nature, have 

substantially similar emissions, and 

would be subject to the same or 

substantially similar permit 

requirements.14 ‘‘Similar in nature’’ 

refers to size, processes, and operating 

conditions. The purpose of a general 

permit is to provide for protection of air 

quality while simplifying the permit 

process for similar minor sources. 

General permits offer a cost-effective 

means of issuing permits and provide a 

quicker and simpler mechanism for 

permitting minor sources than the sitespecific permitting process. 

While the final Indian Country Minor 

NSR rule contemplated issuance of 

general permits by the EPA regions, we 

have determined (for the permits on 

which we are taking comment here) that 

a nationwide action is appropriate. 

Through this action, we are proposing to 

issue general permits to serve as 

preconstruction permit authorizations 

that contain emission limitations and 

other restrictions to govern how a 

source may construct, modify and 

operate. National general permits 

streamline the permit issuance process 

by establishing universal requirements 

through one notice for specific types of 

emissions activities at multiple sources 

across the country. The EPA believes 

that the general permit approach is 

appropriate for the source categories in 

today’s proposal where the control 

equipment or techniques are generally 

similar from region to region. 

A general permit also allows a 

reviewing authority to notify the public 

through one notice that it intends to 

apply these requirements to any eligible 

source that seeks coverage under the 

permit in the future. This minimizes the 

burden on reviewing authorities’ 

resources by eliminating the need to 

issue separate permits for each 

individual minor source within the 

source type or category covered by the 

general permit. Use of a general permit 

also decreases the time required for an 

individual minor source to obtain a 

preconstruction permit because the 

application process is standardized. 

The Indian Country Minor NSR rule 

describes the process the EPA will use 

to issue general permits for the minor 

NSR program. A general permit must be 

issued in accordance with the 

requirements in 40 CFR 49.156. Briefly, 

these requirements address public 

availability of information, public 

notification and participation, and 

public comments. In addition, as 

discussed in Section IX., we are 

providing implementation tools to guide 

sources through a series of questions to 

determine whether they meet the 

criteria to be eligible for coverage under 

a general permit. 

C. What is a permit by rule? 

Like a general permit, a permit by rule 

is a standard set of requirements that 

can apply to multiple stationary sources 

with similar emissions characteristics. 

For purposes of this action, a permit by 

rule would differ from a general permit 

in that the agency would codify a permit 

by rule directly into the Indian Country 

Minor NSR rule. The process for a 

source to apply for coverage under a 

permit by rule, and the process for the 

reviewing authority to grant coverage 

under a permit by rule, is more 

streamlined compared to a standard 

general permit, or a site-specific permit. 

In particular, a proposed project need 

not wait for a response from the 

permitting authority before starting 

construction under a permit by rule. 

Section VII. provides a description of 

the source application process for 

permits by rule. 

IV. Description of General Permit 

Program in Indian Country and the 

EPA’s Use of This Package To Satisfy 

the General Permit Issuance Process 

A. General Permit Program 

The EPA codified the framework it 

would follow to issue general permits 

for minor sources in the Indian Country 

Minor NSR rule in 40 CFR 49.156. 

While it was not necessary for the EPA 

to codify this framework to issue general 

permits, the EPA nonetheless created 

the regulatory framework to better 

inform the public of the process the EPA 

will use to issue general permits. Per the 

framework, to issue a general permit, 

the reviewing authority must follow the 

requirements for public participation 

contained in 40 CFR 49.157. These 

provisions require the reviewing 

authority then to provide a notice that 

a draft permit is available for comment. 

The regulations list a number of ways in 

which a reviewing authority can 

provide notice to the public, and also 

allow the reviewing authority to use 

other means of notification as 

appropriate (40 CFR 49.157(b)(1)(ii)(E)). 

We have opted to provide notice to the 

public regarding the present proposal of 

general permits for six source categories 

through use of the Federal Register. We 

believe this approach is appropriate in 

this case because we intend to apply 

these general permits in all areas of 

Indian country subject to the Indian 

Country Minor NSR Program and the 

Federal Register provides a nationwide 

circulation of the notice. We will also 

mail a copy of each permit for which the 

reviewing authority has approved 

coverage for a source to the appropriate 

Indian governing bodies and the tribal, 

state and local air pollution agencies in 

adjacent air jurisdictions that may be 

impacted by the air pollution sources 

that use the general permit in 

accordance with 40 CFR 49.157(b)(1)(i). 

The existing regulations also identify 

the type of information that a reviewing 

authority must make available to the 

public, and list a number of elements to 

be included in the public notice (40 CFR 

49.157(a) and (b)(2)). We are satisfying 

these requirements in this proposal in a 

wide-ranging manner by providing the 

public access to the application forms 

we will require an applicant to 

complete, and the other implementation 

tools for each general permit. (We 

discuss these tools in greater detail in 

Section IX. of this preamble.) Many of 

these requirements relate to information 

that is best made available when an 

individual applicant applies for 

coverage under a specific general 

permit. We will make information 

specific to an individual source’s 

request for coverage under a general 

permit available at the time we provide 

notice of the source’s request for 

coverage. 

After providing adequate public 

notice of the availability of the draft 

permit, the reviewing authority must 

allow a period of at least 30 days for the 

public to comment on the permit, and 

to request a public hearing (40 CFR 

49.157). We are satisfying these 

requirements by using this proposed 

rule to propose, take comments and 

hold a public hearing on the general 

permits. Once we finalize a general 

permit, it will be used by the EPA’s 

regional office reviewing authorities 15

for sources requesting coverage under 

the permit. 

The regulations set forth the 

provisions for a final permit to undergo 

administrative and judicial review in 

accordance with 40 CFR 49.159. The 

procedures governing appeals of NSR 

permits to the Environmental Appeals 

Board will govern administrative review 

of these general permits. Issuance of a 

general permit is a final agency action 

with respect to all aspects of the general 


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16 If the EPA revises an existing general permit, 

then the original permit can no longer be used for 

new and modified minor sources. The new general 

permit will be used for new and modified minor 

sources in the relevant source category. The existing 

general permit remains in place for existing 

facilities unless and until they choose to modify. 

17To be eligible for a proposed general permit in 

today’s action, the PTE of your facility, including 

Continued 

permit except its applicability to an 

individual source. The provisions of 40 

CFR 49.159 will continue to govern 

administrative and judicial review of 

the EPA’s approval of an individual 

source’s request for coverage. After the 

reviewing authority approves a request 

for coverage by an individual source, a 

party may appeal only the applicability 

of the general permit to that particular 

source. 

Although we are using a Federal 

Register notice to initially establish the 

general permits, we intend to use other 

methods also consistent with 

procedures in 40 CFR 49.159 to reopen 

or administratively amend the final 

permits if we determine it is necessary 

and appropriate. A reviewing authority 

may reopen and revise a final general 

permit for cause after providing the 

opportunity for notice and comment 

under 40 CFR 49.157. Revisions to a 

final general permit may be appropriate, 

for example, when the reviewing 

authority decides to issue a new general 

permit for the same category to account 

for advances in control technology or for 

other pertinent reasons. However, when 

a reviewing authority issues a new 

general permit, sources operating under 

the existing general permit will be able 

to continue to operate under the existing 

permit unless and until the source 

subsequently proposes to modify.16

B. How do sources apply for general 

permits? 

40 CFR 49.156(e) describes the 

procedure for sources to obtain coverage 

under a general permit. At the time a 

source submits a request for coverage 

under a general permit, it must submit 

a copy of such request to the 

appropriate Indian governing body for 

the area of Indian country where the 

source is locating. The reviewing 

authority must act on the source’s 

request for coverage under the general 

permit as expeditiously as possible, but 

it must notify the source of the final 

decision within 90 days of its receipt of 

the coverage request. The source’s 

reviewing authority must comply with a 

45-day completeness review period to 

determine if the request for coverage 

under a general permit is complete. 

Therefore, within 30 days after the 

receipt of the source’s coverage request, 

the reviewing authority must make an 

initial request for any additional 

information necessary to process the 

coverage request and the source must 

submit such information within 15 

days. If the source does not submit the 

requested information within 15 days 

from the request for additional 

information and this results in a delay 

that is beyond the 45-day completeness 

review period, the 90-day permit 

issuance period for the general permit 

will be extended by the additional days 

the source takes to submit the requested 

information beyond the 45-day period. 

If the reviewing authority fails to notify 

the source within a 30-day period of any 

additional information necessary to 

process the source’s coverage request, 

the source will still have 15 days to 

submit such information and the 

reviewing authority must still grant or 

deny the request for coverage under a 

general permit within the 90-day 

general permit issuance period and 

without any time extension. 

If the reviewing authority determines 

that the source’s request for coverage 

under a general permit has all the 

relevant information and is complete, it 

will notify the source in writing as soon 

as that determination is made. If the 

source does not receive from the 

reviewing authority a request for 

additional information or a notice that 

the request for coverage under a general 

permit is complete within the 45-day 

completeness review period, the request 

will be deemed complete. 

After permit coverage is granted, 

under 40 CFR 49.156(e), coverage under 

a general permit becomes invalid if a 

source does not commence construction 

within 18 months after the effective date 

of coverage under a general permit, if 

the source discontinues construction for 

a period of 18 months or more, or if the 

source does not complete construction 

within a reasonable time. The reviewing 

authority may extend the 18-month 

period upon a satisfactory showing that 

an extension is justified, and the 18- 

month limit does not apply to the time 

period between construction of the 

approved phases of a phased 

construction project. In those cases, 

construction of each such phase must 

commence within 18 months of the 

projected and approved commencement 

date. 

In Section XI., the EPA proposes to 

amend 40 CFR 49.156(e) to shorten the 

permit application procedure to 45 from 

90 days for one source category in 

today’s proposal: Graphic arts and 

printing operations. 

In Section IX., we describe the 

implementation documents and tools 

that we are making available for 

comment to assist sources with applying 

for general permits. 

C. What are the required permitting 

elements? 

For general permits, these elements 

are discussed in the Indian Country 

Minor NSR rule promulgated at 40 CFR 

49.155(a) and include: 

• The effective date of the permit and 

the date by which a source must 

commence construction in order for the 

permit’s coverage to remain valid (i.e., 

18 months after the source obtains 

coverage under the general permit); 

• The emissions units subject to the 

permit and their associated emission 

limitations (and other permit 

conditions); 

• Monitoring, recordkeeping, 

reporting and testing requirements to 

ensure compliance with the emission 

limitations; and 

• A severability clause to ensure the 

continued validity of the other portions 

of the permit in the event of a challenge 

to a portion of the permit. 

V. Source Categories for Which 

Proposed General Permits in Indian 

Country Are Available for Public 

Review 

A. Notice of Proposed General Permits 

In accordance with 40 CFR 

49.171(b)(1)(1)(E), we are providing the 

public with a copy of six proposed 

general permits covering six source 

categories: (1) Concrete batch plants, (2) 

boilers, (3) stationary spark ignition 

engines, (4) stationary compression 

ignition engines, (5) graphic arts and 

printing operations and (6) sawmills. 

Copies of each of these proposed 

permits and the following four 

associated permitting documents are 

available in the docket for this notice 

(EPA–HQ–OAR–2011–0151) and at 

http://www.epa.gov/air/tribal/

tribalnsr.html: 

(1) Request for Coverage 

(Application); 

(2) Questionnaire; 

(3) Instructions; and 

(4) PTE calculator. 

The application for one of the six 

source categories in today’s proposal 

(i.e., graphic arts and printing 

operations) is streamlined and asks for 

contact and location information and 

basic solvent usage information (more 

detailed source-specific information 

would be required from sources seeking 

coverage under the other five general 

permits). This is discussed further in 

Section IX. 

The general permits will authorize 17

construction of, or any modifications of, 


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all existing, new, and modified emission units 

present at the facility, must be below the major 

source thresholds for NSR. 

18 ‘‘General Permits and Permits by Rule for the 

Federal Minor New Source Review Program in 

Indian Country,’’ U.S. Environmental Protection 

Agency, January 14, 2014 (79 FR 2546), http://

www.gpo.gov/fdsys/pkg/FR-2014-01-14/pdf/2013- 

30345.pdf. 

any of the affected emission units, or 

pollutant emitting activities named in 

the permit, at any proposed true minor 

source that meets the permit’s 

applicability requirements and 

eligibility statements, and for which the 

reviewing authority approves coverage 

under the permit. 

We request comment on all aspects of 

the general permits and the associated 

forms and documentation provided to 

assist the stationary sources specified in 

the permits in complying with the 

Indian country minor NSR 

preconstruction permitting and postconstruction operating requirements. In 

Section VIII., we propose, in the 

alternative, a permit by rule for graphic 

arts and printing operations. Should we 

decide to finalize a permit by rule for 

this category, then we may not finalize 

the draft general permit for that 

category. Alternatively, we may opt to 

finalize both permitting mechanisms for 

this source category, and may tailor one 

of the permitting mechanisms to 

provide authorization to construct or 

modify true minor sources (i.e., permit 

by rule) and another to provide 

enforceable limitations to create 

synthetic minor sources (i.e., general 

permit). We specifically request 

comment on this ‘‘hybrid’’ approach 

(see Section XI. of the January 14, 2014 

proposal 18 for further discussion on the 

hybrid approach). 

For the six source categories in 

today’s action, we are proposing general 

permits as our preferred approach. We 

have crafted our proposal to ensure air 

quality is protected and to provide more 

detailed or streamlined approaches, as 

appropriate. For concrete batch plants, 

boilers, stationary spark ignition 

engines, stationary compression ignition 

engines and sawmills, the EPA is 

proposing (1) that we retain the 90-day 

application review process provided in 

the Indian Country NSR Rule; and (2) 

that we provide more detailed 

applications that are appropriate for 

sources in these categories that involve 

multiple pollutants where the reviewing 

authority needs to conduct a review to 

evaluate whether an individual source 

meets the requirements in the permit. 

However, we also recognize that a more 

streamlined approach may be 

appropriate for other source categories 

with few pollutants of concern and in 

which the operations are less complex. 

For graphic arts and printing operations, 

the EPA is proposing to change the 

underlying rule to provide a shorter 

application review period (see Section 

XI.) and a shorter application (see 

Section IX.). The permit by rule 

proposed as an alternative for this 

source category would take that 

streamlining a step further (see Section 

VII.). 

The remainder of this section outlines 

the general structure of each of the 

proposed general permits, and requests 

comment on issues that are common 

among the proposed general permits. 

Specifically, we are requesting comment 

on: 

(1) Whether the EPA’s proposed 

approach of incorporating by reference 

each reviewing authority’s approval of a 

request for coverage into the general 

permit is necessary and appropriate; 

and 

(2) The appropriateness of proposed 

permit terms related to the reviewing 

authority’s ability to reopen, revise, or 

terminate an individual approval of 

coverage under the general permit. 

This section also describes the general 

process we undertook for each of the 

control technology reviews required to 

establish the terms and conditions of 

each proposed general permit, and 

requests comment on our conclusions 

on several aspects of the control 

technology reviews. 

Additional information and 

supporting analyses on each of these 

proposed permits are located in the 

background documents. These 

documents are available at Docket ID 

No. EPA–HQ–OAR–2011–0151 and 

online at http://www.epa.gov/air/tribal/ 

tribalnsr.html. 

B. Structure of General Permits 

Each proposed general permit 

contains a similar overall structure. The 

cover page of each proposed permit 

contains general information on the 

proposed permit. First, it briefly 

describes the applicability of the permit 

to a particular source category or 

emissions activity the general permit 

regulates in accordance with 40 CFR 

49.156(d)(1). This description varies for 

each of the proposed permits, 

depending on the emissions activity 

covered by the proposed permit. 

Second, the cover page limits 

eligibility for coverage under the permit 

to true minor sources. We included this 

limitation to allow permitting 

authorities the ability to process a 

permit application for inherently larger 

sources using the more extended time 

periods the Indian Country Minor NSR 

rule provides for case by case, site 

specific review. We also include this 

limitation in the proposed permits to 

remain consistent with our current 

policy that we will not allow sources to 

use general permits to create synthetic 

minor sources. 

We recognize, however, that limiting 

eligibility of these proposed permits to 

only true minor sources could limit the 

number and types of sources that could 

take advantage of the streamlined, 

general permitting process. In our prior 

proposal of January 14, 2014, we 

proposed to change the current policy in 

the Indian Country Minor NSR rule to 

allow general permits and permits by 

rule to create synthetic minor sources. 

Depending on the outcome of that 

proposal, we may amend one or more of 

the final permits in this proposal to 

allow any minor source to apply for 

coverage under that permit. 

Third, following the eligibility 

statement, the proposed permit directs 

applicants to the specific information 

that an applicant must include in a 

request for coverage under the permit in 

accordance with 40 CFR 49.156(d)(2)(ii) 

and (iii). The request for coverage serves 

as the permit application and some of 

the information in the application will 

differ for each proposed permit. We 

discuss the application and 

implementation tools to assist true 

minor sources in determining whether a 

source is eligible for coverage under a 

general permit in Section IX. 

Fourth, the proposed permit contains 

a statement that incorporates each 

reviewing authority’s approval of a 

request for coverage into the general 

permit. Sections 1 through 6 of the 

general permit, and the most current 

approval of the request for coverage, 

must be posted prominently at the 

facility, and each affected emissions 

unit and any associated air pollution 

control technology must be labeled with 

the identification number listed in the 

Approval of the Request for Coverage for 

that permitted source. We request 

comment on the inclusion of this 

condition in the permits given that the 

Indian Country Minor NSR rule only 

requires posting of the approval of 

coverage. 

As we developed the proposed 

permits, we envisioned situations in 

which the reviewing authority may need 

to revise information contained in the 

approval notice sometime after 

issuance. For example, a source covered 

by a general permit may subsequently 

change ownership. A reviewing 

authority may delegate responsibilities 

for the general permit to a tribal air 

pollution control agency. A source may 

subsequently need to revise something 

in its request for coverage that would 


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19For more information, go to: http://

www.epa.gov/glo/SIPToolkit/ctgs.html. 

20Maps for those NAAQS for which the EPA has 

designated nonattainment areas in Indian Country 

are available online at http://www.epa.gov/air/

tribal/tribalnsr.html and Docket ID No. EPA–HQ– 

OAR–2011–0151. NAAQS for which the EPA has 

designated nonattainment areas are: Ozone (2008 

NAAQS), PM10 (1987 NAAQS), PM2.5 24-Hour 

(2006 NAAQS), and PM2.5 Annual (1997 NAAQS). 

There are no tribal lands in nonattainment for SO2

(2010 NAAQS), NO2, lead (2008 NAAQS), and CO. 

alter elements of the approval. For 

example, a source may misidentify an 

equipment identification number in its 

request for coverage, or decide to 

expand or limit the scope of the 

modification. A reviewing authority 

may need to alter its approval of the 

request for coverage for these situations. 

The general permit provisions at 40 CFR 

51.156(b)(2) broadly reference 40 CFR 

49.159, which specifically addresses the 

reviewing authority’s ability to reopen 

or administratively amend permits. The 

provisions, however, do not specifically 

delineate how they apply to an approval 

of a request for coverage under a general 

permit. By incorporating the approval 

into the general permit, we ensure that 

the revision procedures contained in 40 

CFR 49.159 apply to revisions a 

reviewing authority may make to the 

approval of the request for coverage. We 

request comment on this approach for 

incorporating the approval of the 

request for coverage into the general 

permit. Alternatively, we request 

comment on whether such 

incorporation is unnecessary and on 

whether to apply the procedures in 40 

CFR 49.159 to the approval of the 

request for coverage, or whether the 

EPA should amend the existing 

regulations at 40 CFR 49.156 to address 

amendments to the request for coverage. 

Fifth, the proposed permit contains 

information on the reviewing authority’s 

right to terminate or revise the general 

permit. The general permit provisions in 

the Indian Country Minor NSR rule 

provide the reviewing authority the 

ability to revise, revoke and reissue, or 

terminate a general permit. In harmony 

with those provisions, the proposed 

permits include authority for a 

reviewing authority to revise or 

terminate an approval of a request for 

coverage. We are adding these 

provisions to the general permit, under 

the authority of 40 CFR 49.156(d), to 

clarify how the Indian Country Minor 

NSR rule intended these provisions to 

apply to an individual request for 

coverage. We request comment on 

inclusion of these provisions in the 

general permit, or, alternatively, 

whether the EPA should amend the 

Indian Country Minor NSR rule to 

expressly delineate the reviewing 

authority’s right to revise or terminate 

an individual source’s coverage under a 

general permit. 

Finally, the proposed permit contains 

a statement indicating that the 

definitions contained in the Indian 

Country Minor NSR rule govern use of 

those terms within the general permit. 

The statement also refers permittees to 

a section of the permit that contains 

definitions that may be specific to the 

source categories or emissions activities 

covered by the general permit; and 

indicates that when a term is not 

otherwise defined we will interpret that 

term consistent with normal business 

use. We, nonetheless, request comment 

on whether we should include any 

additional definitions to improve the 

clarity of the general permits. 

Following the general information 

section, each proposed permit contains 

the enforceable terms and conditions of 

the general permit. Section 1 of the 

Terms and Conditions provisions 

contains general provisions that, with 

only a few exceptions, are similar for all 

the general permits. These provisions 

contain statements that the Indian 

Country Minor NSR rule requires in 

each permit pursuant to 40 CFR 49.155. 

In each permit, the general provisions 

are followed by emission limitations 

and other operational restrictions or 

specifications, and monitoring, 

recordkeeping, and reporting 

requirements that are unique to each of 

the permits. The notice and reporting 

requirements are followed by a section 

outlining the reviewing authority’s 

ability to change the general permit, 

including the approval of the request for 

coverage, a section on requesting 

coverage under the permit, and 

attachments with abbreviations and 

acronyms, a list of definitions, and a list 

of reviewing authorities and areas of 

coverage. Attachments to the concrete 

batch plant and sawmill permits also 

contain requirements to minimize 

fugitive dust emissions. An attachment 

to the sawmill permit contains sample 

VOC calculations. Attachments to the 

graphic arts and printing operations 

general permit contain requirements for 

serious, severe or extreme ozone 

nonattainment areas and sample 

calculations for monthly VOC 

emissions. 

C. The EPA’s Control Technology 

Review 

Each permit establishes specific 

numerical limitations on the quantity, 

rate or concentration of emissions for 

each regulated NSR pollutant emitted by 

each affected emissions unit. For each 

general permit, in a manner similar to 

what a permitting authority would be 

expected to do for an individual source, 

we established these control technologybased requirements by researching both 

state and local air quality programs to 

identify control technologies or other 

emissions reduction measures used by 

similar sources in surrounding areas, 

and by reviewing requirements 

contained in existing 40 CFR parts 60 

and 63 emissions standards that apply 

to these source categories. Some of the 

proposed permits build upon the 

requirements in the 40 CFR parts 60 and 

63 emissions standards by including 

some control technology measures 

found in state and local agencies’ 

general permits for these source 

categories. The proposed permit for 

graphic arts and printing operations 

draws control information from control 

technique guidelines for flexible 

package printing and offset lithographic 

printing developed by the EPA covering 

activities in the printing industry.19

The background documents for each 

proposed permit explain the state and 

local programs we reviewed to identify 

control technology options in each 

source category. We believe that, 

because these control measures are 

currently used by other similar sources 

in other areas of the country, they are 

technically and economically feasible, 

and cost effective. We request comment 

on this conclusion, and invite 

commenters to submit specific 

information that would indicate that 

either: (1) The measures in the proposed 

permits are not economically feasible 

and/or cost effective; or (2) additional 

economically feasible and cost effective 

measures are available and appropriate 

to include in the final general permits. 

In determining specific emission 

limitations and control measures for 

each permit, we considered air quality 

conditions in Indian country. Notably, 

Indian country contains both attainment 

and nonattainment areas for different 

regulated NSR pollutants.20 In some 

cases, for areas designated as 

nonattainment for a given pollutant, the 

proposed permits contain more 

stringent emission limitations for that 

pollutant (or precursors of that 

pollutant). These control requirements 

will help mitigate any further 

degradation of air quality in those areas. 

In other cases, however, the proposed 

permits do not include different 

emission limitations based on the 

attainment status of the area. In these 

situations, we determined that the 

emission limitations are sufficient to 

protect air quality in both attainment 

and nonattainment areas. 

For concrete batch plants, boilers, 

stationary spark ignition engines, 

stationary compression ignition engines, 


emcdonald on DSK67QTVN1PROD with PROPOSALS5
41856 Federal Register / Vol. 79, No. 137 / Thursday, July 17, 2014 / Proposed Rules 

21See the following memo online at http://

www.epa.gov/air/tribal/tribalnsr.html and in the 

docket (ID No. EPA–HQ–OAR–2011–0151): 

‘‘Projected New Minor Sources in Indian Country,’’ 

from Lillian Grace Bradley, Environmental 

Economist, EPA/OAQPS to Chris Stoneman, Policy 

Advisor, EPA/OAQPS, March 13, 2014. 

22These criteria are not the sole manner for 

demonstrating that a general permit applies only to 

similar sources, but they serve as examples of the 

types of characteristics that may be relevant. 

and sawmills, we also added additional 

provisions related to the location of the 

emitting activities and the source 

property boundary. We call these 

provisions, which are designed to 

minimize the impacts of emissions on 

air quality in the immediate vicinity of 

the source, setback requirements. Under 

the setback requirement, sources may 

not locate within a specific distance 

from the property boundary and nearest 

residences. In reviewing state and local 

air agency general permits, we found 

that permitting authorities in Alaska, 

Texas and Washington include setback 

requirements to protect local ambient 

air quality from potential source 

impacts. We find that these 

requirements are both reasonable and 

prudent measures to protect local air 

quality, and are economically feasible 

and cost effective. We, therefore, 

included similar measures in the 

proposed permits. We discuss the 

specific setback requirements for each 

category in Section VI. 

We welcome comments on the use of 

these setback requirements. We also 

welcome comments on the types of 

buildings from which we should 

establish setback requirements (e.g., 

schools, nursing homes). We further 

request comment on whether the 

setback requirement conflicts with tribal 

authority over zoning-related matters, 

and, if so, then on how we should 

resolve that conflict. 

To further protect against adverse 

local air quality impacts, the proposed 

permits ensure that no source will cause 

or contribute to NAAQS or PSD 

increment violations by prohibiting 

emissions that would result in such 

impacts. Thus, reviewing authorities 

will consider any air quality concerns 

unique to specific areas that arise after 

issuance of the general permits in this 

proposal when determining whether an 

individual permit applicant is eligible 

for coverage under the general permit. 

For example, if a source wants to locate 

in an area with air quality levels 

approaching or violating the NAAQS, 

the reviewing authority may need to 

request that a source apply for a sitespecific permit so that the potential for 

greater control than that afforded by the 

general permit can be evaluated. 

In conducting the control technology 

review, we also considered the 

anticipated growth rate of the source 

categories. In general, we do not 

anticipate significant increases in 

growth for these six source categories 

for the foreseeable future, as we 

identified no information indicating that 

to be the case.21 Thus, we do not believe 

that emissions increases from these 

categories will pose unique or 

additional impacts on air quality in the 

foreseeable future that might warrant a 

more stringent approach to controlling 

emissions than contained in the 

proposed permits. We request comment 

on our conclusion about anticipated 

growth in these source categories and 

regions, and the reasonableness of the 

emission limitations and control 

measures specified in the proposed 

permits. 

D. Scope of Coverage Under Each 

General Permit 

In the Indian Country Minor NSR 

rule, the EPA stated that it may use the 

general permit mechanism to issue 

permits to ‘‘similar’’ types of emissions 

units or minor sources. This limitation 

on the ability to issue general permits is 

consistent with the EPA’s longstanding 

interpretation of the CAA as it relates to 

the ability of a permitting agency and 

source to use standardized protocols to 

meet CAA minor source permitting 

requirements. The proposed general 

permits meet the limitation that general 

permits apply only to similar sources, 

because each of the permits covers only 

affected emission units or emissions 

generating activities that are: (1) 

Specifically identified by name in the 

permit; (2) generate the same regulated 

NSR pollutants in the same manner and 

magnitude; and (3) are associated only 

with operations within a defined source 

category.22 We discuss the specific 

scope of each proposed general permit 

in more detail in Section VI. below and 

in the background document for each 

proposed general permit. 

E. Surrogate Annual Allowable 

Emission Limitations 

The Indian Country Minor NSR rule 

requires the reviewing authority to 

establish annual allowable emission 

limitations for each affected emissions 

unit and for each NSR regulated 

pollutant emitted by the unit, if the unit 

is issued an enforceable limitation lower 

than the PTE of that unit (40 CFR 

49.155(a)(2)). For the six source 

categories in this proposal, the proposed 

general permits provide emissions 

limitations as annual tpy allowable 

emission limitations, throughput limits 

or input-based emissions limits, or some 

combination thereof, depending on the 

particular source category. In the case of 

concrete batch plants, we believe that a 

production limit serves as a reasonable 

surrogate for a tpy emission limitation, 

since there is a direct correlation 

between the amount of material 

processed and the amount of pollution 

emitted. We also believe that monitoring 

throughput rather than actual emissions 

may provide a more cost-effective 

method of demonstrating compliance. 

For example, concrete batch facilities 

regularly track a facility’s throughput, 

but do not necessarily analyze specific 

emissions discharges. Thus, reliance on 

throughput limits provides a more costeffective approach to regulating 

emissions and we believe this will 

enhance the potential for compliance 

with the proposed permit for this 

category. 

The approach for engines (spark 

ignition and compression ignition) and 

boilers also relies on a concept of 

‘‘surrogate’’ emissions limitations, but 

instead of using throughput limits, these 

permits rely on ‘‘surrogate’’ capacity 

limits. The capacity limits are set at 

levels to ensure that the sources remain 

below certain tpy emissions rates. We 

also believe that setting capacity limits 

rather than limitations on actual 

emissions may provide a more costeffective and practical method of 

demonstrating compliance, which will 

enhance the potential for compliance 

with the proposed permit for this 

category. 

For sawmills and graphic arts and 

printing operations, we provide tpy 

emissions limitations in the permit. We 

require sources in these two categories 

to track throughput and to calculate 

annual emissions based on their 

throughput using the calculator we have 

provided. The reason for providing this 

additional flexibility for the source is 

due to the uncertainty they face as to the 

exact nature of their production at the 

start of a reporting period. For example, 

a sawmill will not necessarily know 

what species of wood (each with 

different VOC content) it will process in 

a given year. The source, therefore, 

would need to track its board-feet 

throughput of each wood species and 

calculate the emissions associated with 

the wood species to ensure it stays 

within the permitted emissions 

limitations. The same approach is 

applicable to graphic arts and printing 

operations that may be engaged in 

several different types of printing 

operations that involve different 

solvents with different VOC contents. 

Those sources need similar flexibility 


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23These requirements apply to both general 

permits and permits by rule. Only general permits 

are mentioned here but the requirements apply 

identically to both permit types. Section VII.C. is 

specific to permits by rule and notes that these 

requirements also apply to permits by rule. 

24 ‘‘Final National Pollutant Discharge 

Elimination System (NPDES) General Permit for 

Stormwater Discharges from Construction 

Activities,’’ U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, 

February 29, 2012 (77 FR 12286), http://

www.gpo.gov/fdsys/granule/FR-2012-02-29/2012- 

4822/content-detail.html. 

and would also need to track solvent 

usage and VOC content to ensure they 

stay within the permitted emissions 

limitations. 

In Section VI. below, we request 

comment on these approaches for the 

six source categories. 

In a related matter, in the January 14, 

2014, proposal, we indicated that we 

granted reconsideration on the issue of 

allowing reviewing authorities to use 

general permits to create synthetic 

minor sources and proposed to change 

the current policy of not allowing their 

use for this purpose. If the EPA allows 

otherwise major sources to qualify as 

synthetic minor sources through use of 

general permits, we request comment on 

specific changes that we would need to 

include in the limits of each permit to 

properly regulate synthetic minor 

sources for the six categories in this 

proposal. For example, should the EPA 

establish higher annual tpy allowable 

emission limitations or surrogate 

production limits that are just below the 

major source thresholds for each 

regulated NSR pollutant, or should the 

EPA maintain the limitations in the 

current proposed permits to maintain an 

adequate compliance margin? 

F. Requirements of the Endangered 

Species Act and the National Historic 

Preservation Act 23

The ESA requires federal agencies to 

ensure, in consultation with the U.S. 

Fish and Wildlife Service and/or the 

National Marine Fisheries Service (the 

Services), that any action they 

authorize, fund, or carry out will not 

likely jeopardize the continued 

existence of any listed threatened or 

endangered species, or destroy or 

adversely modify the designated critical 

habitat of such species. Under relevant 

ESA implementing regulations, federal 

agencies consult with the Service(s) on 

actions that may affect listed species or 

designated critical habitat. 

The NHPA requires federal agencies 

to take into account the effects of their 

undertakings on historic properties (i.e., 

properties that are either listed on, or 

eligible for listing on, the National 

Register of Historic Places) and to 

provide the Advisory Council on 

Historic Preservation (the Council) a 

reasonable opportunity to comment on 

such undertakings. Under relevant 

NHPA implementing regulations, NHPA 

consultations are generally conducted 

with the appropriate Tribal and/or State 

Historic Preservation Officers in the first 

instance, with opportunities for direct 

Council involvement in appropriate 

circumstances, including, for example, 

consultations in connection with 

undertakings affecting multiple tribes or 

states. 

The Indian country minor NSR 

program has increased the number of 

activities for which the EPA is the 

permitting authority. To meet ESA and 

NHPA requirements, we have developed 

a process for compliance with these 

laws when issuing the general permits. 

The EPA intends to consult with the 

Services and the Council on our general 

permits and the proposed procedures to 

address potential effects on relevant 

protected resources. 

For purposes of general permits, the 

EPA intends to adopt a framework that 

provides appropriate protection for 

listed species and critical habitat and 

historic properties. The EPA believes, 

based on the evaluation of available 

information, that the sources that are the 

subject of this proposal are unlikely to 

present a significant risk to listed 

species and critical habitat and to 

historic properties because they are by 

their nature small, low emitting sources. 

However, to ensure listed species and 

critical habitats and historic properties 

are protected, the EPA has developed a 

framework in the general permits that 

requires the applicant to identify and 

assess effects before a request for 

coverage under the general permit is 

submitted to the EPA. (As noted below, 

the applicant must submit the 

assessment to the EPA as part of the 

request for coverage.) Requiring this 

assessment should help identify any 

concerns related to potential impacts on 

listed species/critical habitat or historic 

properties early in the process when the 

greatest opportunities to mitigate or 

avoid any impacts—including changes 

to the facility’s location or footprint— 

are available. This framework is similar 

to procedures established by the Office 

of Water for the National Pollutant 

Discharge Elimination System General 

Permit for Stormwater Discharges from 

Construction Activities.24 The EPA 

believes that requiring a process in the 

general air quality permits that is 

similar to the already-established 

process for the general stormwater 

permits will be beneficial for all 

concerned: The applicants, the EPA, the 

tribes, and the Services. 

The screening processes developed in 

the permits for both the ESA and NHPA 

require the applicant to develop 

information about the possible effects of 

the proposed new or modified facility, 

which includes appropriate outreach to 

relevant expert resource agencies. Such 

information and a certification regarding 

the outcome of the applicant’s screening 

procedures are submitted to the EPA as 

part of the request for coverage under 

the general permit. This information is 

included as an appendix to the 

applications for requests for coverage 

under the general permits. The EPA will 

review this information as part of 

determining whether a source is eligible 

for coverage under the general permit. 

Because we have limited the 

applicability of the general permits to 

categories of sources that have low 

emissions, we do not expect they are 

likely to adversely affect listed species/ 

critical habitats, nor should they have 

potential effects on historic properties. 

However, if, through the procedures 

required in the permit, a source is 

determined to have an adverse effect on 

listed species/critical habitats or 

potential effects on historic properties, 

the EPA retains the authority to deny 

coverage under the general permit and 

to proceed with source-specific 

permitting and consultation with the 

appropriate resource agency(ies). 

VI. Summary of Specific Terms and 

Conditions of the General Permits and 

Request for Comment 

In the following sections, we provide 

a brief summary of the source category 

regulated by each general permit and 

the areas of each proposed general 

permit on which we specifically seek 

public comment. In this preamble, we 

are not delineating every aspect of the 

requirements of the general permits. 

Instead, we refer readers to the proposed 

permits and associated background 

information to review all of the detailed 

requirements we include in each general 

permit. Although we are soliciting 

comments on specific aspects of the 

proposed permits, we, nonetheless, 

invite the public to comment on all 

relevant aspects of the proposed 

permits. 

Generally, we have designed the 

proposed permits to be as 

comprehensive as possible and, thus, 

they contain emission limitations 

requirements for several, potentially 

affected emission units that could be 

found at a source. If a source determines 

that it does not have all of the emission 

units that the general permit covers, it 

can still seek coverage for those units 


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25AP–42, Chapters 11.19.12, Concrete Batching, 

http://www.epa.gov/ttn/chief/ap42/ch11/

index.html. 

26Method 9—Visual Determination of the 

Opacity of Emissions From Stationary Sources, 

http://www.epa.gov/ttn/emc/promgate/m-09.pdf. 

the permit covers. The intent of the 

comprehensive permit is to help avoid 

sources with multiple emission units 

having to apply for multiple general 

permits. In any case, if a source 

determines that it is does not meet the 

qualifications of the general permit for 

a given category, then it can apply for 

a site-specific permit. 

We are proposing the general permits 

for true minor sources in Indian 

country. To be eligible for a general 

permit as proposed in this action, a 

source would need to calculate the PTE 

for all of its NSR-regulated pollutants 

for all existing, new, and modified 

emission units. If the total PTE is less 

than the NSR major source thresholds, 

then the source is eligible for the permit, 

provided all other qualifying conditions 

are satisfied. 

A. Concrete Batch Plants 

1. What is a concrete batch plant? 

A concrete batch plant is an operation 

that combines various ingredients to 

form concrete. Some of these inputs 

include sand, water, aggregate (rocks, 

gravel, etc.), fly ash, potash, and cement. 

There are two types of concrete batch 

plants: Ready mix plants and central 

mix plants. A concrete plant can have 

a variety of parts and equipment, 

including but not limited to: Mixers 

(either tilt-up or horizontal or in some 

cases both), cement batchers, aggregate 

batchers, conveyors, radial stackers, 

aggregate bins, cement bins, heaters, 

chillers, cement silos, batch plant 

controls, and dust collectors (to 

minimize environmental pollution). 

Concrete is composed essentially of 

water, cement, sand (fine aggregate) and 

coarse aggregate. Approximately 75 

percent of the U.S. concrete 

manufactured is produced at plants that 

store, convey, measure and discharge 

these constituents into trucks for 

transport to a job site. At most of these 

plants, sand, aggregate, cement and 

water are all gravity fed from the weight 

hopper into the mixer trucks. The 

concrete is mixed on the way to the site 

where the concrete is to be poured. At 

some of these plants, the concrete may 

also be manufactured in a central mix 

drum and transferred to a transport 

truck. Most of the remaining concrete 

manufactured is cast as products in a 

factory setting. Precast products range 

from concrete bricks and paving stones 

to bridge girders, structural components, 

and panels for cladding. Concrete 

masonry, another type of manufactured 

concrete, may be best known for its 

conventional 8 x 8 x 16-inch block. In 

a few cases concrete is dry batched or 

prepared at a building construction site. 

Raw materials for concrete batch 

operations can be delivered to a plant by 

rail, truck or barge. The cement is 

transferred to elevated storage silos 

pneumatically or by bucket elevator. 

The sand and coarse aggregate are 

transferred to elevated bins by front end 

loader, clamshell crane, belt conveyor, 

or bucket elevator. From these elevated 

bins, the constituents are fed by gravity 

or screw conveyor to weigh hoppers, 

which combine the proper amounts of 

each material. 

PM, consisting primarily of cement 

and pozzolan dust, but including some 

aggregate and sand dust emissions, is 

the primary pollutant of concern. In 

addition, there are emissions of metals 

that are associated with this PM. All but 

one of the emission points is fugitive in 

nature. The only point sources are the 

transfer of cement and pozzolan 

material to silos, and these are usually 

vented to a fabric filter or ‘‘sock.’’ 

Fugitive sources include the transfer of 

sand and aggregate, truck loading, mixer 

loading, vehicle traffic, and wind 

erosion from sand and aggregate storage 

piles. The amount of fugitive emissions 

generated during the transfer of sand 

and aggregate depends primarily on the 

surface moisture content of these 

materials. 

The extent of fugitive emissions 

control varies widely from plant to 

plant. Types of controls used may 

include water sprays, enclosures, hoods, 

curtains, shrouds, movable and 

telescoping chutes, central duct 

collection systems, and the like. A major 

source of potential emissions, the 

movement of heavy trucks over unpaved 

or dusty surfaces in and around the 

plant, can be controlled by good 

maintenance and wetting of road 

surfaces.25

2. What is in the proposed general air 

quality permit for new or modified true 

minor source concrete batch plants? 

This proposed general permit would 

apply to the construction of new true 

minor source concrete batch plants or 

the modification of existing true minor 

concrete batch plants located in Indian 

country. The proposed permit is 

designed to be as comprehensive as 

possible and, thus, contains emission 

limitations requirements for: 

• Storage silos; 

• Batch drop points; 

• Loading transfer areas; 

• Weigh hoppers; 

• Auxiliary storage bins; 

• Non-emergency stationary engines; 

• Emergency stationary engines; and 

• Setbacks. 

The proposed permit requires that the 

permittee maintain and operate each 

affected emission unit and any 

associated air pollution control 

equipment, considering the 

manufacturer’s recommended operating 

procedures, so as to minimize emissions 

of NSR regulated pollutants. The 

reviewing authority will determine 

whether the permittee is using 

acceptable operating and maintenance 

procedures based on monitoring results, 

opacity observations, review of 

operating and maintenance procedures, 

and inspection of the permitted source. 

(Failure to meet these requirements 

would constitute a violation of the 

permit.) 

The proposed permit requires each 

storage silo to be equipped with an 

audible alarm or an automatic shutoff 

system that warns when the silo is full. 

Loading operations cannot be conducted 

without a warning or shutoff device. 

Storage silos, weigh hoppers and 

auxiliary storage bins must be vented to 

a fabric or cartridge filter. The filter 

systems can be a centralized system. A 

suction shroud or other pickup device 

should be installed at each batch drop 

point (drum, truck loading etc.) and 

vented to a fabric or cartridge filter 

system. Loading and unloading areas 

must be well lit during non-daylight 

hours when the permitted source is in 

operation and visible emissions from 

each storage silo, weigh hopper and 

auxiliary storage bin must not exceed 10 

percent opacity based on a six-minute 

average (according to EPA Method 9 26). 

For portable and permanent concrete 

batch plants, the limit on production is 

a maximum annual production rate of 

2,000,000 cubic yards. The proposed 

permit also requires a fugitive dust 

control plan. 

The proposed permit contains 

requirements for non-emergency and 

emergency engines, in the event such 

engines are present at the concrete batch 

plant. Non-emergency compression 

ignition engines present at the site, 

excluding nonroad mobile engines, 

must comply with the following: 

• Use diesel or biodiesel containing 

no more than 15 ppm (0.0015 percent) 

sulfur; 

• Each compression ignition engine 

that commenced construction on or after 

June 12, 2006 must be certified to the 

applicable Tier standards in 40 CFR 

89.112 and 40 CFR 1039.101 through 

1039.104, for all pollutants, for the same 


emcdonald on DSK67QTVN1PROD with PROPOSALS5
Federal Register / Vol. 79, No. 137 / Thursday, July 17, 2014 / Proposed Rules 41859 

27 Information on state setback provisions is 

available at: Background Document: General Air 

Quality Permit for New or Modified True Minor 

Source Concrete Batch Plants, Docket ID No. EPA– 

HQ–OAR–2011–0151, http://www.epa.gov/air/

tribal/tribalnsr.html. 

28AP–42, Chapter 1.3—Fuel Oil Combustion, 

http://www.epa.gov/ttnchie1/ap42/ch01/. 

model year and maximum engine 

power; and 

• Each compression ignition engine 

that commenced construction before 

June 12, 2006 shall meet certain 

standards as laid out in the permit based 

on the engine’s maximum rated power. 

If the source includes one or more 

emergency engines, each emergency 

engine must be equipped with a nonresettable hour meter and, if using fuel 

oil, then it must use diesel or biodiesel 

containing no more than 15 ppm 

(0.0015 percent) sulfur. Newer 

emergency engines—model year 2006 or 

later for compression ignition engines 

and 2009 or later for spark ignition 

engines—must meet certain certification 

or emission requirements that are 

contained in the EPA emissions 

standards at 40 CFR part 89, 40 CFR part 

90, 40 CFR part 1048 or Table 1 to 40 

CFR part 60, subpart JJJJ, as applicable. 

Other, older emergency engines are 

required to meet certain routine 

maintenance requirements, and must 

follow the manufacturer’s emissionrelated operation and maintenance 

instructions or the permittee must 

develop a maintenance plan, which 

must provide, to the extent practicable, 

for the maintenance and operation of 

the engine in a manner consistent with 

good air pollution control practice for 

minimizing emissions. 

The proposed general permit includes 

monitoring that is sufficient to ensure 

compliance with the emission 

limitations that apply to the source, 

including ensuring the fabric/cartridge 

filters are operating properly, taking 

weekly opacity observations and 

fugitive emissions surveys and meeting 

certain other requirements. The permit 

also requires performance testing for 

emergency engines present at the plant 

that must meet certain emissions 

standards, but are not certified by the 

manufacturer to those standards and are 

not required to be certified by the 

manufacturer. This requirement is 

needed since the EPA certification 

program for certain engines is voluntary. 

The proposed general permit includes 

recordkeeping and reporting sufficient 

to ensure compliance with the 

monitoring requirements. 

3. Request for Comment on the 

Proposed General Air Quality Permit for 

New or Modified True Minor Source 

Concrete Batch Plants 

We request comment on all aspects of 

the general permit for concrete batch 

plants. We specifically request comment 

in the following three areas: 

a. Throughput Production Limit as a 

Surrogate for Annual Tons Per Year 

Allowable Emission Limitations 

The proposed concrete batch plant 

general permit contains a throughputbased production limit that serves as a 

surrogate for annual tpy allowable 

emission limitations. We discuss the use 

of surrogate limits in Section V.E. above. 

For portable and permanent concrete 

batch plants, as stated above, the limit 

on production is a maximum annual 

production rate of 2,000,000 cubic 

yards. 

The background information 

document for the proposed permit 

contains the approximate tpy emission 

thresholds for which the throughput 

limits act as surrogates. The proposed 

permit does not establish different 

throughput limits based on the 

attainment status of the area. We request 

comment on our use of throughput 

limits as a surrogate for tpy emission 

limitations for this source category, and 

on whether there should be different 

production throughput limits in 

attainment and nonattainment areas. 

In establishing specific limits for 

concrete batch facilities, we considered 

whether we should compute the 

production throughput limits on a tpy 

basis, or over a shorter period of time to 

ensure continuous compliance. For 

concrete batch plants, where PM10 is the 

limiting pollutant for non-fugitive 

emissions, we elected an annual 

production limit to ensure annual 

compliance. We request comment on 

whether we should instead establish a 

monthly total emission limitation based 

on a 30-day rolling total or on any other 

appropriate averaging period. 

b. Setback Requirement 

The proposed general permit requires 

concrete batch plants to locate at least 

150 feet from the nearest property 

boundary and 1,000 feet from the 

nearest residence. A number of states 

include setback requirements in their 

general permits for this source 

category.27 We believe that this 

requirement will minimize the impact 

of emissions from these sources on 

localized air quality. We request 

comment on whether we should include 

the setback requirement in the final 

permit to provide additional protection 

against adverse impacts to localized air 

quality. In addition, we request 

comment on whether there are other 

neighboring types of buildings for 

which a setback should apply (e.g., 

schools, nursing homes) and whether to 

require owners/operators of concrete 

batch plants subject to the permit to use 

physical markers on their property to 

show compliance with the setback 

requirement. 

c. Authorizing Multiple Locations 

Concrete batch plants can operate as 

portable stationary sources. A plant will 

locate in a single area for a specified 

period of time and then disassemble and 

relocate to another area. We structured 

the proposed general permit to 

accommodate relocation of a plant. A 

source may identify multiple sites of 

operation in its request for coverage. 

The reviewing authority will consider 

the request for each location, and will 

specify approval of one or more of these 

locations in the approval of the request 

for coverage. If the reviewing authority 

does not approve a specific location, 

then the source will need to reapply for 

coverage under the general permit or for 

a site specific permit before relocating to 

this site. The general permit also 

requires a source to submit a 

notification to the reviewing authority 

each time it relocates to a pre-approved 

site. We request comment on the use of 

the general permit to authorize 

relocation of a plant to pre-approved 

site locations. 

B. Boilers 

1. What is a boiler? 

A boiler is a device in which water 

typically is heated to provide steam to 

drive turbines or engines, supply heat, 

or process materials. This proposed 

permit covers steam generating units 

located at institutional, commercial, and 

industrial facilities which combust nonsolid fossil fuels such as natural gas and 

fuel oil. This permit does not cover 

boilers located at electric utilities or 

boilers used for the burning of other 

fuels such as coal and wood. This 

source category does not cover the 

manufacturers of boilers. The proposed 

General Air Quality Permit for New or 

Modified True Minor Source Boilers 

only covers new, true minor source 

boilers and modifications of existing 

true minor source boilers. 

Boilers designed to burn fuel oil 

primarily combust distillate oils and 

residual oils.28 These boilers can be of 

water tube, fire tube, cast iron, or 

tubeless design. Water tube boilers are 

used in a variety of applications ranging 

from supplying large amounts of process 

steam to providing space heat for 


emcdonald on DSK67QTVN1PROD with PROPOSALS5
41860 Federal Register / Vol. 79, No. 137 / Thursday, July 17, 2014 / Proposed Rules 

29AP–42, Chapter 1.4—Natural Gas Combustion, 

http://www.epa.gov/ttnchie1/ap42/ch01/. 

industrial facilities. In a water tube 

boiler, combustion heat is transferred to 

water flowing through tubes which line 

the furnace walls and boiler passes. The 

tube surfaces in the furnace (which 

houses the burner flame) absorb heat 

primarily by radiation from the flames. 

The tube surfaces in the boiler (adjacent 

to the primary furnace) absorb heat 

primarily by convective heat transfer. 

Fire tube boilers are used primarily for 

heating systems, industrial process 

steam generators, and portable power 

boilers. In fire tube boilers, the hot 

combustion gases flow through the 

tubes while the water being heated 

circulates outside of the tubes. A cast 

iron boiler is one in which combustion 

gases rise through a vertical heat 

exchanger and out through an exhaust 

duct. Water in the heat exchanger tubes 

is heated as it moves upward through 

the tubes. Cast iron boilers produce low 

pressure steam or hot water, and 

generally burn oil or natural gas. They 

are used primarily in the residential and 

commercial sectors. (Note that 

residential boilers are not covered by 

the proposal.) Tubeless boilers 

incorporate nested pressure vessels with 

water in between the shells. Combustion 

gases are fired into the inner pressure 

vessel and are then sometimes 

recirculated outside the second vessel. 

Natural gas combustion boilers are 

used to generate industrial electric 

power, produce industrial process steam 

and heat, and heat residential and 

commercial space.29 (Note that 

residential boilers are not covered by 

the proposal.) Natural gas is generally 

more than 85 percent methane with 

varying amounts of ethane, propane, 

butane, and inert gases (typically 

nitrogen, carbon dioxide (CO2), and 

helium). Natural gas combustion boilers 

may be of water tube, fire tube, or cast 

iron design. Water tube boilers can be 

distinguished either as field erected 

units or packaged units; the former are 

built onsite in either wall-fired or 

tangential-fired configurations and 

generally have heat input levels 

exceeding 100 million British thermal 

units (MMBtu)/hour, while the latter are 

shipped where needed, are always wallfired, and generally have heat input 

levels of less than 100 MMBtu/hour. 

The emissions from fuel oil-fired 

boilers include PM, SO2, NOX, CO, 

small amounts of VOCs, and trace 

elements. The emissions from natural 

gas-fired boilers include NOX, CO, CO2, 

nitrous oxide, VOCs, trace amounts of 

SO2, and PM. 

2. What is in the proposed General Air 

Quality Permit for New or Modified 

True Minor Source Boilers? 

This proposed general permit would 

apply in Indian country to the 

construction of new, true minor source 

boilers and modifications of existing 

true minor source boilers. The proposed 

permit is designed to be as 

comprehensive as possible and, thus, 

contains requirements for: 

• Boiler capacity limits; 

• Emissions and opacity limitations; 

• Boiler stacks; 

• Fuel usage; 

• Setbacks; and 

• Emergency engines. 

The proposed permit requires that the 

permittee maintain and operate each 

affected emission unit and any 

associated air pollution control 

equipment, considering the 

manufacturer’s recommended operating 

procedures, so as to minimize emissions 

of NSR regulated pollutants. The 

reviewing authority will determine 

whether the permittee is using 

acceptable operating and maintenance 

procedures based on monitoring results, 

opacity observations, review of 

operating and maintenance procedures, 

and inspection of the permitted source. 

(Failure to meet these requirements 

would constitute a violation of the 

permit.) 

The proposed permit uses boiler 

capacity limits as emissions limitations. 

The permit provides a capacity limit for 

an individual boiler located in an 

attainment or nonattainment area of less 

than 100 MMBtu/hour. Further, the 

proposed permit restricts capacity by 

laying out a matrix of combined 

maximum rating capacity limits for 

different fuel types (i.e., liquid, gaseous) 

by boiler size or type. The combined 

capacity limits vary by area designation/ 

classification. The combined capacity 

limits are set at levels intended to 

ensure the covered sources remain 

below major source levels. 

The proposed permit also provides 

output-based and input-based emission 

limitations for boilers rated at 10 

MMBtu/hour or greater. The proposed 

permit restricts fuel use to natural gas or 

fuel oil (i.e., diesel or biodiesel) with a 

sulfur content of 0.0015 percent or less 

by weight. In addition, a natural gas unit 

may use fuel oil as a backup emergency 

fuel for up to 500 hours per calendar 

year. 

The proposed permit requires that the 

boiler(s) must not discharge into the 

atmosphere any gases that exhibit 5 

percent opacity or greater averaged over 

any six-consecutive-minute period. The 

boiler stack(s) must be above the 

buildings in the vicinity, discharge 

vertically, and have no obstructions to 

gas flow such as rain caps, except for 

hinged rain caps. Each boiler must 

undergo biennial tune-ups. 

If the permittee is operating the 

boiler(s) in a severe or extreme ozone 

nonattainment area, then the permittee 

must comply with additional 

requirements. Boilers located in severe 

or extreme ozone nonattainment areas 

must meet tighter emissions limitations 

for NOX. 

The proposed permit contains 

requirements for emergency engines 

located at the same facility as a boiler. 

Each emergency engine must be 

equipped with a non-resettable hour 

meter and, if using fuel oil, then it must 

use diesel or biodiesel containing no 

more than 15 ppm (0.0015 percent) 

sulfur by weight. Newer emergency 

engines—model year 2006 or later for 

compression ignition engines and 2009 

or later for spark ignition engines—must 

meet certain certification or emission 

requirements that are specified in the 

EPA emissions standards at 40 CFR part 

89, 40 CFR part 90 and 40 CFR part 

1048 or Table 1 to 40 CFR part 60, 

subpart JJJJ, as applicable. Older 

emergency engines are required to meet 

certain routine maintenance 

requirements, and must follow the 

manufacturer’s emission-related 

operation and maintenance instructions 

or the permittee must develop a 

maintenance plan, which must provide, 

to the extent practicable, for the 

maintenance and operation of the 

engine in a manner consistent with good 

air pollution control practice for 

minimizing emissions. 

The proposed permit includes 

monitoring that is sufficient to ensure 

compliance with the emission 

limitations that apply to the source, 

including visible emissions surveys and 

an initial and additional periodic 

performance testing. The proposed 

permit also requires performance testing 

for emergency engines located at the 

same source that must meet certain 

emissions standards, but are neither 

required to be certified by the 

manufacturer nor are certified by the 

manufacturer as meeting those 

standards. The basis for this 

requirement is the fact that the EPA 

certification program for certain engines 

is voluntary. The proposed permit 

includes recordkeeping and reporting 

sufficient to ensure compliance with the 

monitoring requirements. 


emcdonald on DSK67QTVN1PROD with PROPOSALS5
Federal Register / Vol. 79, No. 137 / Thursday, July 17, 2014 / Proposed Rules 41861 

30The EPA is making available for comment two 

proposed general permits: One for spark ignition 

internal combustion engines and one for 

compression ignition internal combustion engines. 

31As defined in 40 CFR 1068.30, a nonroad 

engine is used to propel a motor vehicle, aircraft, 

or a vehicle used solely for competition. 

32The definitions for emergency and stationary 

engines are adopted from the definitions in 40 CFR 

60.4219. 

33The definitions for spark ignition and 

compression ignition engines are adopted from the 

definitions in 40 CFR 60.4219. 

34AP–42, Chapter 3.2—Natural Gas-fired 

Reciprocating Engines, http://www.epa.gov/

ttnchie1/ap42/ch03/. 

3. Request for Comment on the 

Proposed General Air Quality Permit for 

New or Modified True Minor Source 

Boilers 

We request comment on all aspects of 

the general permit for boilers. We 

specifically request comment in the 

following three areas: 

a. Surrogate Annual Allowable Emission 

Limitations 

The boilers general permit contains 

capacity limits that serve as surrogate 

annual tpy allowable emission 

limitations. We discuss the use of 

surrogate limits in detail in Section V.E. 

above. In addition, we request comment 

on the use of these surrogate capacity 

limits. In lieu of establishing surrogate 

limits, we request comment on whether, 

instead of containing surrogate limits, 

the final permits should contain tpy 

emission limitations and require the use 

of monitoring of material use to 

demonstrate compliance. We also 

request comment on finalizing two 

boiler general permits—one intended for 

smaller, simpler sources that uses 

capacity limits and one for larger, more 

complex sources that uses tpy emission 

limitations together with additional 

monitoring and recordkeeping 

requirements. Other requirements in the 

permits would be essentially the same. 

Finally, we request comment on the 

appropriateness of establishing different 

capacity limits based on the attainment 

status of the area and whether the 

specified capacity limits should be 

lower in nonattainment areas than 

attainment areas. 

b. Should we establish different 

requirements for severe or extreme 

ozone nonattainment areas? 

The proposed general permit contains 

emissions limits for sources that locate 

in severe or extreme ozone 

nonattainment areas. We request 

comment on the need for these limits. 

c. Setback Requirement 

The proposed general permit requires 

the exhaust from each boiler or heater 

to be located a minimum of 50 feet from 

the nearest property line and 150 feet 

from any adjacent residential or 

commercial establishment or place of 

public assembly. The EPA’s 40 CFR 

parts 60, 61, and 63 regulations do not 

contain setback requirements affecting 

boilers or heaters. However, certain 

states include setback requirements in 

their general permits for certain source 

categories, although not necessarily for 

boilers. We believe that these 

requirements will minimize the impact 

of emissions from these sources on 

localized air quality. These setbacks are 

less stringent than the proposed setback 

permit provisions in the proposed 

concrete batch plant, engine and 

sawmill permits. We believe a different 

(lesser) setback requirement is 

warranted for the boilers general permit 

compared to the other general permits 

because of the different type of 

equipment associated with the 

stationary sources covered by this 

proposed permit. This proposed permit 

would generally be used for 

institutional, commercial, and small 

industrial operations which tend to 

have less air impact. In addition, the 

boilers general permit contains specific 

numerical limits on NOX and CO 

emissions that will further limit air 

impacts. 

We request comment on whether we 

should include these setback 

requirements in the final permit to 

provide additional protection against 

adverse impacts to local air quality. In 

addition, we request comment on 

whether there are other neighboring 

types of buildings from which the 

setback should apply (e.g., schools, 

nursing homes) and whether to require 

owners/operators of the boilers subject 

to the permit to use physical markers on 

their property to show compliance with 

the setback requirements. 

C. Stationary Compression Ignition and 

Spark Ignition Engines 

1. What are compression ignition and 

spark ignition engines? 

Engines covered by these proposed 

general permits 30 are stationary internal 

combustion engines (ICE or engine) that 

convert heat energy into mechanical 

work and are not mobile. This source 

category does not include combustion 

turbines or nonroad 31 engines (mobile 

ICE) such as those on forklifts, offhighway mobile cranes, bulldozers, and 

lawnmowers. Stationary ICE include 

reciprocating ICE, rotary ICE, and other 

ICE, except combustion turbines as 

noted above. Engine manufacturers are 

not included in this source category. In 

addition, these general permits only 

apply to engines located at true minor 

sources. 

The proposed general permits cover 

both stationary non-emergency and 

emergency stationary ICE. Emergency 

stationary ICE include any stationary 

internal combustion engine whose 

operation is limited to emergency 

situations and for which testing and 

maintenance are required. Examples 

include stationary ICE used to produce 

power for critical networks or 

equipment (including power supplied to 

portions of a facility) when electric 

power from the local utility (or the 

normal power source, if the facility runs 

on its own power production) is 

interrupted, or stationary ICE used to 

pump water in the case of fire, flood, or 

other adverse event. Stationary ICE used 

to supply power to an electric grid or 

that supply power as part of a financial 

arrangement with another entity are not 

considered to be emergency engines.32

There are two types of ICE: Spark 

ignition and compression ignition. A 

spark ignition engine is a gasoline, 

natural gas, or any other type of engine 

with a spark plug (or other sparking 

device) and with operating 

characteristics significantly similar to 

the theoretical Otto combustion cycle. 

Spark ignition engines usually use a 

throttle to regulate intake air flow to 

control power during normal operation. 

Dual-fuel engines in which a liquid fuel 

(typically diesel fuel) is used for 

compression ignition ICE and a gaseous 

fuel (typically natural gas) is used as the 

primary fuel at an annual average ratio 

of less than 2 parts diesel fuel to 100 

parts total fuel on an energy equivalent 

basis are spark ignition engines. A 

compression ignition ICE is defined as 

an engine that is not a spark ignition 

engine. These engines are typically 

diesel engines where the heat generated 

from compression is enough to initiate 

the combustion process, without 

needing an external spark.33

Gasoline, diesel (No. 2 fuel oil), and 

natural gas are the three primary fuels 

used for ICE. Most natural gas-fired 

reciprocating engines are used in the 

natural gas industry at pipeline 

compressor and storage stations and at 

gas processing plants.34 Gasoline and 

small diesel ICE (with capacities equal 

to or less than 600 horsepower (hp)) are 

used in a wide variety of industrial 

applications such as generators, pumps, 

and material handling equipment (such 

as conveyors). Gasoline is used 

primarily for mobile and portable 

engines. Diesel fuel oil is the most 

versatile fuel and is used in 

compression ignition engines of all 


emcdonald on DSK67QTVN1PROD with PROPOSALS5
41862 Federal Register / Vol. 79, No. 137 / Thursday, July 17, 2014 / Proposed Rules 

35AP–42, Chapter 3.3—Gasoline and Diesel 

Industrial Engines, http://www.epa.gov/ttnchie1/

ap42/ch03/. 

36AP–42, Chapter 3.4—Large Stationary Diesel 

and All Stationary Dual-fuel Engines, http://

www.epa.gov/ttnchie1/ap42/ch03/. 

37AP–42, Chapter 3.2—Natural Gas-fired 

Reciprocating Engines, http://www.epa.gov/

ttnchie1/ap42/ch03/. 

sizes. Substantial differences in engine 

duty cycles exist.35

Large stationary diesel ICE (with 

capacities greater than 600 hp) are often 

used in oil and gas exploration and 

production. These engines, in groups of 

3 to 5, supply mechanical power to 

operate drilling (rotary table), mud 

pumping, and hoisting equipment, and 

may also operate pumps or auxiliary 

power generators. Another frequent 

application of large stationary diesel ICE 

is electricity generation for both base 

and standby service. Smaller uses 

include irrigation, hoisting, and nuclear 

power plant emergency cooling water 

pump operation.36

The primary criteria pollutants 

emitted by engines are NOX, CO, and 

VOC. The formation of NOX is 

exponentially related to combustion 

temperature in the engine cylinder. The 

other pollutants, CO and VOC, are 

primarily the result of incomplete 

combustion. PM emissions include trace 

amounts of metals, non-combustible 

inorganic material, and condensible, 

semi-volatile organics which result from 

volatized lubricating oil, engine wear, or 

from products of incomplete 

combustion. Emissions of sulfur 

compounds, mainly SO2, are directly 

related to the sulfur content of the fuel. 

Three generic control techniques have 

been developed for reciprocating 

engines: Parametric controls (timing and 

operating at a leaner air-to-fuel ratio); 

combustion modifications such as 

advanced engine design for new sources 

or major modification to existing 

sources (clean-burn cylinder head 

designs and pre-stratified charge 

combustion for rich-burn engines); and 

post-combustion catalytic controls 

installed on the engine exhaust system. 

Post-combustion catalytic technologies 

include selective catalytic reduction, 

nonselective catalytic reduction, and CO 

oxidation catalysts.37

2. What is in the proposed General Air 

Quality Permits for New or Modified 

True Minor Source Spark Ignition and 

Compression Ignition Engines? 

These two proposed general permits 

would apply to the construction of new, 

true minor source stationary 

compression ignition and spark ignition 

engines or the modification of existing, 

true minor source engines located in 

Indian country. We created separate 

proposed general permits, one for 

compression ignition engines and one 

for spark ignition engines, because there 

are different requirements for each type 

of engine. Both engine general permits 

cover emergency and non-emergency 

engines. (Sources that only have 

emergency engines and also intend to 

construct a boiler may want to consider 

the boiler general permit, which allows 

for greater boiler and emergency engine 

capacity.) However, we have written 

both proposed general permits to 

accommodate emergency engines of 

both engine types because the emissions 

from emergency engines are relatively 

small and we did not want a particular 

source to not be able to qualify for the 

general permit if, for example, they 

happen to have a small compression 

ignition emergency engine at a source of 

non-emergency spark ignition engines. 

As a result, the spark ignition engine 

general permit covers non-emergency 

spark ignition engines, emergency spark 

ignition engines, and emergency 

compression ignition engines. The 

compression ignition general permit 

covers non-emergency compression 

ignition engines, emergency 

compression ignition engines, and 

emergency spark ignition engines. 

The proposed general permits for 

compression ignition and spark ignition 

engines require that the permittee, 

considering the manufacturer’s 

recommended operating procedures, 

maintain and operate each affected 

emission unit and any associated air 

pollution control equipment so as to 

minimize emissions of NSR regulated 

pollutants. The reviewing authority will 

determine whether the permittee is 

using acceptable operating and 

maintenance procedures based on 

monitoring results, opacity 

observations, review of operating and 

maintenance procedures, and inspection 

of the permitted source. (Failure to meet 

these requirements would constitute a 

violation of the permit.) 

The proposed compression ignition 

general permit imposes different 

requirements depending upon where 

the source chooses to locate or modify 

and whether the engine is for emergency 

or non-emergency purposes. The 

proposed permit contains a setback 

requirement. Each non-emergency 

compression ignition engine must not 

be located less than 150 feet from the 

nearest property boundary and 1,000 

feet from the nearest residence. 

The proposed compression ignition 

general permit contains two options for 

meeting capacity limits for engines 

locating in ozone attainment, 

unclassifiable or attainment/

unclassifiable areas or ozone marginal 

and moderate nonattainment areas. 

Option 1 allows for a source to have 

greater non-emergency engine capacity 

(up to 3800 hp) if the non-emergency 

engines are within a set of certain 

parameters, mainly related to whether 

the engines are part of a generator set. 

These types of engines must meet much 

more stringent emission limits, resulting 

in fewer emissions, and, thus, the 

permit provides the ability to increase 

the capacity limit. Option 2 allows for 

less capacity for non-emergency engines 

(1900 hp) but does not require nonemergency engines to be within the 

specific parameters in Option 1. The 

proposed permit also contains an 

additional overall capacity limit for 

engines locating or modifying in serious 

ozone nonattainment areas (1100 hp for 

non-emergency engines and 750 hp for 

emergency engines) and does not allow 

permit coverage for engines locating or 

modifying in severe or extreme ozone 

nonattainment areas. 

The capacity limits restrict the size of 

engines that would be covered by the 

proposed general permit. The proposed 

capacity limits serve as surrogate 

emissions limitations and are set at 

levels that correspond to emission rates 

intended to ensure emissions from 

sources covered by the general permit 

are below major source levels. 

The proposed compression ignition 

permit also includes requirements for 

auxiliary heaters present at the new or 

modified facility so that the permittee 

would not need to seek a separate 

permit for that emissions unit. For the 

auxiliary heaters, the permit provides 

capacity limits which require that the 

combined maximum heat input of all 

auxiliary heaters not be greater than 10 

MMBtu/hour and they can only burn 

natural gas. Non-emergency 

compression ignition engines can only 

use distillate fuel (i.e., diesel or 

biodiesel) containing no more than 15 

ppm (0.0015 percent) sulfur by weight. 

Each of the engines must be model year 

2014 or later and certified by the 

manufacturer to the applicable 

standards in 40 CFR part 89 and the Tier 

4 standards in 40 CFR 1039.101 through 

1039.104, for all pollutants, for the same 

model year and maximum engine 

power. 

Under the proposed spark ignition 

general permit, spark ignition engines 

must meet certain capacity limits 

intended to ensure the sources operate 

as minor sources. The combined 

maximum engine power of all nonemergency spark ignition engines at a 

single permitted source location shall be 

no greater than 1750 hp. The combined 

maximum engine power of all 


emcdonald on DSK67QTVN1PROD with PROPOSALS5
Federal Register / Vol. 79, No. 137 / Thursday, July 17, 2014 / Proposed Rules 41863 

38 Information on the source of these capacity 

limits is available at: Background Document: 

General Air Quality Permits for New or Modified 

True Minor Source Compression Ignition and Spark 

Ignition Engines, Docket ID No. EPA–HQ–OAR– 

2011–0151, http://www.epa.gov/air/tribal/

tribalnsr.html. 

emergency engines at a single permitted 

source location must be no greater than 

800 hp. Non-emergency spark ignition 

engines must comply with the 

limitations and standards in 40 CFR part 

1054, 40 CFR part 1048, or Table 1 to 

40 CFR part 60, subpart JJJJ, as 

applicable. The Permittee must operate 

and maintain each engine certified by 

the manufacturer, and any associated 

control device, according to the 

manufacturer’s emission-related written 

instructions. Each natural gas-fired 

engine may be operated using propane 

for a maximum of 100 hours per year as 

an alternative fuel solely during 

emergency operations, provided such 

records are kept. 

The proposed spark ignition general 

permit also contains a setback 

requirement. Each non-emergency spark 

ignition engine must not be located less 

than 150 feet from the nearest property 

boundary and 1,000 feet from the 

nearest residence. 

The proposed compression ignition 

and spark ignition permits contain 

requirements for emergency engines 

located at the same source as the 

boiler(s), in the event such engines are 

present at the same facility as the 

boiler(s). Each emergency engine must 

be equipped with a non-resettable hour 

meter and, if using fuel oil, then it must 

use diesel or biodiesel containing no 

more than 15 ppm (0.0015 percent) 

sulfur by weight. Newer emergency 

engines—model year 2006 or later for 

compression ignition engines and 2009 

or later for spark ignition engines—must 

meet certain certification or emission 

requirements that are specified in the 

EPA emissions standards at 40 CFR part 

89, 40 CFR part 90 and 40 CFR part 

1048 or Table 1 to 40 CFR part 60, 

subpart JJJJ, as applicable. Older 

emergency engines are required to meet 

certain routine maintenance 

requirements, and must follow the 

manufacturer’s emission-related 

operation and maintenance instructions 

or the permittee must develop a 

maintenance plan, which must provide, 

to the extent practicable, for the 

maintenance and operation of the 

engine in a manner consistent with good 

air pollution control practice for 

minimizing emissions. 

The proposed compression ignition 

and spark ignition permits include 

monitoring that is sufficient to ensure 

compliance with the emission 

limitations that apply to the covered 

ICE, including requirements to monitor 

fuel use on a monthly basis for each 

engine and to conduct performance tests 

for engines not certified by the 

manufacturer. The proposed permits 

also require performance testing for 

spark ignition emergency engines that 

must meet certain emissions standards, 

but are neither required to be certified 

by the manufacturer nor certified by the 

manufacturer to those standards and are 

not required to be certified by the 

manufacturer. This requirement is 

necessary because the EPA certification 

program for certain engines is voluntary. 

The proposed spark ignition general 

permit also includes, for each engine 

equipped with an air-to-fuel ratio 

controller, a requirement for proper 

maintenance and operation of the 

engine and emissions control device to 

ensure its smooth operation. The 

proposed permits include recordkeeping 

and reporting requirements. 

3. Request for Comment on the 

Proposed General Air Quality Permits 

for New or Modified True Minor Source 

Spark Ignition and Compression 

Ignition Engines 

We request comment on all aspects of 

the proposed general permits for 

engines. We specifically request 

comment in the following four areas: 

(a) The Use of Capacity Limits as 

Surrogate Annual Allowable Emission 

Limitations 

In addition to fuel sulfur content 

limits and output-based limitations for 

auxiliary heaters, the EPA is proposing 

to use capacity limits as surrogate 

annual allowable emission limitations 

for the engines source category. The 

capacity limits are set at levels intended 

to ensure that the engines operate as 

minor sources.38 We request comment 

on the appropriateness of these capacity 

limits. We also request comment on 

whether the required emissions 

limitations should be expressed as 

capacity limits or in another form. 

(b) Setback Requirement 

The proposed general permits require 

stationary spark ignition and 

compression ignition engines to locate 

at least 150 feet from the nearest 

property boundary and 1,000 feet from 

the nearest residence. The EPA’s 40 CFR 

parts 60, 61, and 63 regulations do not 

contain setback requirements affecting 

these engines. However, certain states 

include setback requirements in their 

general permits for certain source 

categories, but not necessarily for 

engines alone. We believe that it is 

prudent to propose a setback for engines 

due to the potential for local scale air 

quality impacts due to NOX emissions 

from compression ignition engines that 

can transform in the atmosphere to 

nitrogen dioxide (NO2) and have local 

NO2 impacts, as well as CO emissions 

from spark ignition engines that can 

have local CO impacts. We believe that 

these requirements will minimize the 

impact of emissions from these sources 

on localized air quality. We request 

comment on whether we should include 

these setback requirements in the final 

permits to provide additional protection 

against adverse impacts to local air 

quality. In addition, we request 

comment on whether there are other 

neighboring types of buildings from 

which the setback should apply (e.g., 

schools, nursing homes) and whether to 

require owners/operators of the engines 

subject to the permit to use physical 

markers on their property to show 

compliance with the setback 

requirements. 

(c) Should we establish different 

requirements for compression ignition 

engines locating or modifying in serious 

ozone nonattainment areas? 

The proposed general permit for 

compression ignition engines contains 

additional requirements for sources that 

locate or modify in serious ozone 

nonattainment areas. These 

requirements consist of overall capacity 

limits for non-emergency and 

emergency engines. We added this 

requirement to provide extra air quality 

protection for areas with poorer ozone 

air quality. We request comment on the 

need for these enhanced requirements 

in serious ozone nonattainment areas. 

(d) Should owners and operators 

seeking to locate compression ignition 

engines in severe, and/or extreme ozone 

nonattainment areas (or to modify 

engines already located in those areas) 

be allowed to use the proposed general 

permit? 

The proposed compression ignition 

general permit contains requirements 

for engines locating or modifying in 

marginal, moderate and serious ozone 

nonattainment areas. Engines locating or 

modifying in severe or extreme ozone 

nonattainment areas are not eligible for 

coverage under the proposed general 

permit. This is because the appropriate 

capacity limits that EPA would set in 

order to keep an engine from being a 

major NOX source in a severe or extreme 

nonattainment would be too low to be 

viable. We request comment on whether 

our reasoning here is sound and 

whether we should restrict applicability 

of the proposed compression ignition 

engine general permit to marginal, 


emcdonald on DSK67QTVN1PROD with PROPOSALS5
41864 Federal Register / Vol. 79, No. 137 / Thursday, July 17, 2014 / Proposed Rules 

39AP–42, Chapter 4.9—AP–42, http://

www.epa.gov/ttn/chief/ap42/ch04/index.html. 

moderate, and serious ozone 

nonattainment areas. 

D. Graphic Arts and Printing Operations 

1. What is a graphic arts and printing 

operation? 

The term ‘‘graphic arts’’ as used here 

means four basic processes of the 

printing industry: Web offset 

lithography, web letterpress, 

rotogravure, and flexography.39 (Screen 

printing and manual sheet-fed 

techniques are not included in this 

source category description.) Printing 

may be performed on coated or 

uncoated paper and on other surfaces, 

as in metal decorating and some fabric 

coating. The material to receive the 

printing is called the substrate. The 

distinction between printing and paper 

coating, both of which may employ 

rotogravure or lithographic methods, is 

that printing invariably involves the 

application of ink by a printing press, 

whereas paper coating does not involve 

that process. Printing and paper coating 

do, however, have these elements in 

common: Application of a relatively 

high-solvent-content material to the 

surface of a moving web or film; rapid 

solvent evaporation by movement of 

heated air across the wet surface; and 

solvent-laden air exhausted from the 

system. Printing inks vary widely in 

composition, but all consist of three 

major components: Pigments, which 

produce the desired colors and are 

composed of finely divided organic and 

inorganic materials; binders, the solid 

components that lock the pigments to 

the substrate and are composed of 

organic resins and polymers or, in some 

inks, oils and rosins; and solvents, 

which dissolve or disperse the pigments 

and binders and are usually composed 

of organic compounds. The binder and 

solvent make up the ‘‘vehicle’’ part of 

the ink. The solvent evaporates from the 

ink into the atmosphere during the 

drying process. 

VOCs are the primary pollutant of 

concern from printing operations. Such 

emissions vary with the printing 

process, ink formulation and coverage, 

press size and speed, and operating 

time. The type of paper (coated or 

uncoated) has little effect on the 

quantity of emissions, although low 

levels of VOC emissions are derived 

from the paper stock during drying. 

Most of the solvent contained in the ink 

and used for dampening and cleanup is 

eventually emitted into the atmosphere; 

however, some solvent does remain 

with the printed product leaving the 

plant and is released to the atmosphere 

later. Overall, VOC emissions can be 

computed using a material balance 

concept, except in cases where a direct 

flame dryer is used and some of the 

solvent is thermally degraded. 

2. What is in the proposed General Air 

Quality Permit for New or Modified 

True Minor Source Graphic Arts and 

Printing Operations? 

This proposed general permit would 

apply to the construction of new, true 

minor source graphic arts and printing 

facilities or the modification of existing, 

true minor source facilities, located in 

Indian country. 

The proposed permit requires that the 

permittee maintain and operate each 

affected emission unit and any 

associated air pollution control 

equipment, considering the 

manufacturer’s recommended operating 

procedures, so as to minimize emissions 

of NSR regulated pollutants. The 

reviewing authority will determine 

whether the permittee is using 

acceptable operating and maintenance 

procedures based on monitoring results, 

review of operating and maintenance 

procedures, and inspection of the 

permitted source. (Failure to meet these 

requirements would constitute a 

violation of the permit.) 

This proposed general permit is not 

available to sources that are major 

sources of hazardous air pollutants 

(HAPs). Under section 112 of the CAA, 

a source is considered major for HAPs 

if it emits 25 tpy or more of any 

combination of HAPs or 10 tpy of any 

single HAP. We are proposing that the 

general permit for this source category 

not be applicable to a major source of 

HAPs because additional requirements 

apply to these types of source and we 

believe the general permits should be 

reserved for sources with 

straightforward permitting 

requirements. We believe that permit 

applications for such major sources 

should receive greater scrutiny than a 

general permit would provide. We 

welcome comment on this issue. 

The proposed permit requires that 

VOC emissions from an individual 

printing press (i.e., printing line) not 

exceed 25 tpy. We included this 

requirement to avoid the need for addon control requirements. We believe 

smaller printing presses (i.e., those that 

emit less than 25 tpy of VOC) do not 

warrant the need for add-on controls. 

Sources applying for this permit that 

nevertheless intend to install add-on 

controls would not be prohibited from 

obtaining this general permit, but they 

would need to be able to demonstrate 

compliance with the permit without the 

consideration of controls. Thus, this 

general permit is only intended for 

smaller graphic arts and printing 

operations, as larger operations would 

likely require more site-specific review 

and add-on controls. 

The proposed permit also requires 

that VOC emissions from the 

combination of all graphic arts and 

printing operations (all printing lines at 

the facility) not exceed certain tpy 

limitations that vary by ozone area 

designation and classification. For 

nonattainment areas, the numerical 

limitations become more stringent as the 

classification increases from marginal to 

extreme. 

For flexible packaging printing 

operations, the permit contains VOC 

content limitations for each coating, ink 

or adhesive used. However, the permit 

provides an exemption that allows up to 

110 gallons per calendar year of VOCcontaining material to not meet the VOC 

content limitations standards for 

graphic arts and printing operations 

located in areas designated as ozone 

attainment, unclassifiable, attainment/

unclassifiable, marginal nonattainment, 

or moderate nonattainment. This is to 

allow the use of a small amount of 

specialty coating, inks, or adhesives. 

For offset lithographic and letterpress 

printing operations, the permit contains 

VOC limitations that vary depending 

upon the type of printing operation. The 

permit provides limitations for heatset 

web offset lithographic printing, sheetfed offset lithographic printing and 

coldset web offset lithographic printing. 

The permit provides an exemption from 

VOC limitations for sheet-fed offset 

lithographic printing operations that use 

sheet-fed presses with sheet sizes of 11 

inches by 17 inches or smaller OR any 

press with a total fountain solution 

reservoir of less than 1 gallon. 

The permit provides additional VOC 

limits for permitted sources that locate 

or modify in a serious, severe or extreme 

ozone nonattainment area for the 

following materials: 

• Lithographic ink; 

• Letterpress ink; 

• Rotogravure ink; 

• Flexographic ink non-porous 

substrate; 

• Flexographic ink porous substrate; 

• Flexographic fluorescent ink; 

• Coating; 

• Adhesive; and 

• Fountain solution. 

The permit requires that: (1) The VOC 

content of cleaning materials used for 

cleaning operations not exceed 70 

percent by weight; (2) all VOCcontaining material (e.g., inks, 

adhesives, coatings, thinners, and cleanVerDate Mar<15>2010 17:53 Jul 16, 2014 Jkt 232001 PO 00000 Frm 00020 Fmt 4701 Sfmt 4702 E:\FR\FM\17JYP5.SGM 17JYP5

emcdonald on DSK67QTVN1PROD with PROPOSALS5
Federal Register / Vol. 79, No. 137 / Thursday, July 17, 2014 / Proposed Rules 41865 

40 Information on these limitations is available at: 

Background Document: General Air Quality Permit 

for True Minor Source Graphics Arts and Printing 

Operations, Docket ID No. EPA–HQ–OAR–2011– 

0151, http://www.epa.gov/air/tribal/tribalnsr.html. 

up solvents) be stored in closed 

containers with labels that clearly 

identify the contents of the container; 

and (3) all waste materials containing 

VOC (e.g., soiled rags) be stored in 

sealed containers until properly 

disposed. 

The permittee must implement 

procedures to minimize spills of any 

VOC-containing material during 

handling and transfer to and from 

containers, enclosed systems, waste 

receptacles and other equipment. 

The proposed permit contains 

requirements for new or modified 

emergency engines, in the event such 

engines are present at the new or 

modified graphic arts and printing 

facility. Each emergency engine must be 

equipped with a non-resettable hour 

meter and, if using fuel oil, then it must 

use diesel or biodiesel containing no 

more than 15 ppm (0.0015 percent) 

sulfur by weight. Newer emergency 

engines—model year 2006 or later for 

compression ignition engines and 2009 

or later for spark ignition engines—must 

meet certain certification or emission 

requirements that are contained in the 

EPA emissions standards at 40 CFR part 

89, 40 CFR part 90 and 40 CFR part 

1048 or Table 1 to 40 CFR part 60, 

subpart JJJJ, as applicable. Other, older 

emergency engines at the new or 

modified facility are required to meet 

certain routine maintenance 

requirements, and must follow the 

manufacturer’s emission-related 

operation and maintenance instructions 

or the permittee must develop and 

implement a maintenance plan, which 

must provide, to the extent practicable, 

for the maintenance and operation of 

the engine in a manner consistent with 

good air pollution control practice for 

minimizing emissions. 

The proposed permit includes 

monitoring that is sufficient to ensure 

compliance with the emission 

limitations that apply to the source. 

Compliance would include requiring 

monitoring the usage of VOC-containing 

materials on a weekly basis and 

conducting performance testing for 

emergency engines that are not required 

to be certified by the manufacturer as 

meeting those standards and are not in 

fact so certified. (This requirement is 

needed since the EPA certification 

program for certain engines is 

voluntary.) The proposed permit 

includes recordkeeping and reporting 

sufficient to ensure compliance with the 

monitoring requirements. 

3. Request for Comment on the 

Proposed General Air Quality Permit for 

New or Modified True Minor Source 

Graphics Arts and Printing Operations 

We request comment on all aspects of 

the proposed general permit for graphic 

arts and printing operations. We 

specifically request comment in the 

following two areas: 

(a) Use of Tons Per Year Numbers as 

Emission Limitations 

In addition to proposing limits on the 

VOC content of specified materials, the 

EPA is also proposing to include annual 

allowable VOC emission limitations for 

the graphic arts and printing operations 

source category. The proposed general 

permit includes an upper emission 

limitation of 25 tpy of VOC from an 

individual printing press (printing line). 

The proposed permit also provides 

overall total tpy emissions limitations 

for all printing lines at the facility, 

which become more stringent as the 

classification of the relevant ozone 

nonattainment area increases.40 Sources 

will need to monitor their material 

usage and perform material balance 

calculations using the calculator we are 

providing to ensure they are staying 

within these tpy limitations. 

We opted to not propose surrogate 

throughput limits for graphic arts and 

printing operations, as we have for one 

other source category, because of the 

diversity of printing lines and materials 

that a facility may employ. It would be 

very difficult to set a material usage 

throughput limit that would have broad 

applicability. In addition, providing 

actual emissions limitations directly in 

the permit ensures the protection of air 

quality, while at the same time 

providing the source with flexibility 

regarding the types of printing lines and 

materials they use. We request comment 

both on the appropriateness of 

establishing annual VOC emissions 

limitations in the permit (versus 

throughput limits) and on whether the 

proposed limitations are set at the 

correct levels. 

(b) Should we establish requirements 

that differ from those for attainment, 

unclassifiable and attainment/

unclassifiable areas for marginal, 

moderate, serious, severe and extreme 

ozone nonattainment areas? 

The proposed permits contain 

additional requirements for sources that 

locate in ozone nonattainment areas. 

First, the annual tpy emissions 

limitations for VOC decline as the 

classification of ozone nonattainment 

increases from marginal to extreme. The 

numbers are set at levels intended to 

ensure that the sources are not major for 

HAPs or for NSR purposes. Second, the 

proposed permit requires lower VOC 

content levels for materials used at 

graphic arts and printing operations 

located in severe or extreme ozone 

nonattainment areas. Both of these 

features are meant to ensure that there 

is extra air quality protection in ozone 

nonattainment areas with higher 

classifications. We request comment on 

whether these additional limitations are 

needed and, if so, whether they are set 

at the correct levels. 

E. Sawmills 

1. What is a sawmill facility? 

A sawmill facility is an operation that 

processes raw timber into dimensional 

lumber for shipping and eventual sale. 

A modern sawmill’s basic operation is 

much like those of hundreds of years 

ago; a log enters at one end and 

dimensional lumber exits at the other 

end. Sawmill activities include sawing, 

planing, sanding, chipping and drying 

wood. Sawmill facilities are common in 

areas with ample supplies of timber, 

including the southeast and northwest. 

A sawmill’s basic operation involves 

several steps to turn logs into 

dimensional lumber: 

• Logs are brought in by logging 

truck, rail or a log drive to the sawmill; 

• Logs are scaled either on the way to 

the mill or upon arrival at the mill; 

• Debarking removes bark from the 

logs; 

• Decking is the process for sorting 

the logs by species, size and end use 

(lumber, plywood, chips); 

• The head saw, head rig or primary 

saw, breaks the log into cants 

(unfinished logs to be further processed) 

and flitches (unfinished planks) with a 

smooth edge; 

• Depending upon the species and 

quality of the log, the cants will be 

further broken down by either a resaw 

or a gang edger into multiple flitches 

and/or boards; 

• Edging trims all irregular edges off 

of the flitch, leaving four-sided lumber; 

• Trimming squares the ends at 

typical lumber lengths; 

• Drying removes naturally occurring 

moisture from the lumber (this can be 

done with kilns or the lumber can be 

air-dried); 

• Planing smoothes the surface of the 

lumber leaving a uniform width and 

thickness; and 

• Shipping transports the finished 

lumber to market. 


emcdonald on DSK67QTVN1PROD with PROPOSALS5
41866 Federal Register / Vol. 79, No. 137 / Thursday, July 17, 2014 / Proposed Rules 

41 Information on board feet limitations is 

available at: Background Document: General Air 

Quality Permit for New or Modified True Minor 

Source Sawmill Facilities, Docket ID No. EPA–HQ– 

OAR–2011–0151, http://www.epa.gov/air/tribal/

tribalnsr.html. 

Sawmills typically derive their power 

from the electric grid. Dryers may be 

either direct-fired or indirect-heated. 

Boilers are typically used to provide the 

heat for dryers. In direct-fired dryers, 

hot combustion gases from an onsite 

boiler are blended with recirculated 

exhaust from the dryer to lower the gas 

temperature to a level that will not 

scorch the lumber. In indirect-heated 

dryers, air is warmed over steam coils 

and then circulated over the lumber. 

Dryers typically have one to three 

heated zones followed by a cooling zone 

or section. Each heated zone has a hot 

air source, fans to move the warm air, 

and an exhaust vent or stack. The 

cooling section circulates ambient air 

over the wood to reduce the temperature 

just before it exits the dryer. The lumber 

must be cooled before proceeding to the 

next step in the process. 

Criteria pollutant emissions of 

concern are primarily PM from sawing 

and planing, but also include PM from 

re-entrained road dust or sawdust 

particles; VOCs from drying; and NOX

from boilers and emergency diesel 

generators. PM control methods include 

water sprays and dry control methods 

(baghouses, fabric filters and cyclones). 

2. What is in the proposed General Air 

Quality Permit for New or Modified 

True Minor Source Sawmill Facilities? 

This proposed general permit would 

apply to the construction of new true 

minor source sawmills or the 

modification of existing true minor 

source sawmills, located in Indian 

country. The proposed permit requires 

that the permittee maintain and operate 

each affected emission unit and any 

associated air pollution control 

equipment, considering the 

manufacturer’s recommended operating 

procedures, so as to minimize emissions 

of NSR regulated pollutants. The 

reviewing authority will determine 

whether the permittee is using 

acceptable operating and maintenance 

procedures based on monitoring results, 

review of operating and maintenance 

procedures, and inspection of the 

permitted source. (Failure to meet these 

requirements would constitute a 

violation of the permit.) 

In creating the proposed sawmill 

general permit, the EPA considered 

VOC emissions from kiln drying, surface 

coating operations, boilers, and 

emergency engines. We are requesting 

comment on whether there are other 

sources of VOC emissions at sawmills 

that should be included in our analysis. 

The proposed permit is designed to be 

as comprehensive as possible and, thus, 

contains emission limitations 

requirements for the following affected 

emission units or activities: 

• Planar mill operations (baghouse/

fabric filter); 

• Sawmill operations (baghouse/

fabric filter or cyclone); 

• Open burning (restrictions on); 

• Boilers; 

• Emergency engine use; 

• Fugitive dust control; and 

• Setbacks. 

The proposed permit prohibits open 

burning and restricts the burning and 

combustion of wood or lumber products 

to wood-fired boilers. Each identified 

emissions unit must not result in the 

discharge of any gases that exhibit 20 

percent opacity or greater averaged over 

any six-consecutive-minute period. Any 

liquid fuels used at the facility shall 

contain no more than 0.0015 percent 

sulfur by weight. The production of 

finished lumber is limited to 25 million 

board feet per year based on a 12-month 

rolling total. The 12-month rolling total 

is determined by the sum of the current 

monthly production and the total of the 

previous 11 months’ production. The 

purpose of the board feet restriction is 

to further limit PM emissions from 

sawmill operations. The limit is in 

addition to the requirement that 

sawmills covered by the proposed 

general permit install cyclones and/or 

baghouses/fabric filters. The 

requirement is consistent with the 

general permits for sawmills in the 

states of Texas and Oregon.41

In addition to requiring the 

installation and operation of air 

pollution controls as described below, 

the proposed permit limits tpy VOC 

emissions from all lumber drying kilns 

and surface coating operations 

regardless of where the sawmill is 

planning to locate or modify. The 

limitations for facilities planning to 

locate or modify in ozone 

nonattainment areas are progressively 

more restrictive as the classification of 

the ozone nonattainment area increases 

from marginal to extreme. Planar mill 

operations must be conducted within 

enclosed structures and a baghouse or 

fabric filter must be used to control 

emissions to the atmosphere. Sawmill 

operations conducted outdoors (i.e., 

operations other than planar mill 

operations) must, at a minimum, be 

covered and all material handling 

operations must be controlled using a 

cyclone or baghouse/fabric filter during 

all times that the affected emission units 

operate. Emissions to the atmosphere 

from sawmill operations conducted 

indoors must be controlled using a 

baghouse or fabric filter. The permittee 

must develop and implement a fugitive 

dust control plan. All VOC-containing 

material (e.g., coatings, thinners, and 

clean-up solvents) must be stored in 

closed containers. All waste materials 

containing VOC (e.g., soiled rags) must 

be stored in sealed containers until 

properly disposed. 

The proposed permit also contains 

requirements for emergency engines, in 

the event such engines are present at the 

new or proposed sawmill facility. Each 

emergency engine must be equipped 

with a non-resettable hour meter and, if 

using fuel oil, then it must use diesel or 

biodiesel containing no more than 15 

ppm (0.0015 percent) sulfur by weight. 

Newer emergency engines—model year 

2006 or later for compression ignition 

engines and 2009 or later for spark 

ignition engines—must meet certain 

certification or emission requirements 

that are contained in the EPA’s 

emissions standards at 40 CFR part 89, 

40 CFR part 90 and 40 CFR part 1048 

or Table 1 to 40 CFR part 60, subpart 

JJJJ, as applicable. Other, older 

emergency engines are required to meet 

certain routine maintenance 

requirements, and must follow the 

manufacturer’s emission-related 

operation and maintenance instructions 

or the owner/operator must develop and 

implement their own maintenance plan 

which must provide to the extent 

practicable for the maintenance and 

operation of the engine in a manner 

consistent with good air pollution 

control practice for minimizing 

emissions. 

The proposed general permit includes 

monitoring that is sufficient to ensure 

compliance with the emission 

limitations that apply to the source, 

including ensuring that the baghouses/ 

fabric filters and cyclones are operating 

properly, conducting weekly opacity 

observations and fugitive emissions 

surveys and meeting certain other 

requirements. The permit also requires 

performance testing for emergency 

engines that must meet certain 

emissions standards, but are neither 

required to be certified by the 

manufacturer as meeting those 

standards, nor are in fact so certified. 

This requirement is needed since the 

EPA certification program for certain 

engines is voluntary. The proposed 

general permit includes recordkeeping 

and reporting requirements sufficient to 

ensure compliance with the monitoring 

requirements. 


emcdonald on DSK67QTVN1PROD with PROPOSALS5
Federal Register / Vol. 79, No. 137 / Thursday, July 17, 2014 / Proposed Rules 41867 

42 Information on these limitations is available at: 

Background Document: General Air Quality Permit 

for New or Modified True Minor Source Sawmill 

Facilities, Docket ID No. EPA–HQ–OAR–2011– 

0151, http://www.epa.gov/air/tribal/tribalnsr.html. 

43The setback requirement in Texas’s general 

permit is described at: Background Document: 

General Air Quality Permit for New or Modified 

True Minor Source Sawmill Facilities, Docket ID 

No. EPA–HQ–OAR–2011–0151, http:// 

www.epa.gov/air/tribal/tribalnsr.html. 

44The EPA has approved the following permits 

by rule: (1) Connecticut for automotive refinishing 

(‘‘Approval and Promulgation of Air Quality 

Implementation Plans; Connecticut; VOC 

Regulations and One-Hour Ozone Attainment 

Demonstration Shortfall;’’ U.S. Environmental 

Protection Agency; August 31, 2006 (71 FR 51761); 

http://www.gpo.gov/fdsys/granule/FR-2006-08-31/ 

06-7314/content-detail.html); (2) Iowa for spray 

booths (‘‘Approval and Promulgation of 

Implementation Plans; State of Iowa;’’ U.S. 

Environmental Protection Agency; March 5, 2010 

(75 FR 10182); https://www.federalregister.gov/ 

articles/2013/08/27/2013-20750/approval-andpromulgation-of-implementation-plans-state-ofiowa); (3) Operating PBR for small sources 

(‘‘Approval and Promulgation of State 

Implementation Plans and Operating Permits 

Program; State of Iowa;’’ U.S. Environmental 

Protection Agency; March 5, 2010 (72 FR 58535); 

(4) Kansas Class II operating permits for 

reciprocating engines, evaporative sources, and hot 

mix asphalt facilities (‘‘Approval and Promulgation 

of Implementation Plans and Section 112(l) 

Program for the Issuance of Federally Enforceable 

State Operating Permits; State of Kansas;’’ U.S. 

Environmental Protection Agency; July 17, 1995 (60 

FR 36361); http://www.gpo.gov/fdsys/pkg/FR-1995- 

07-17/html/95-17214.htm); (5) Massachusetts for 

paint spray booths (‘‘Approval and Promulgation of 

Air Quality Implementation Plans; Massachusetts; 

Volatile Organic Compound Regulations;’’ U.S. 

Environmental Protection Agency; September 3, 

1999 (64 FR 48297); (6) Missouri for construction 

(‘‘Approval and Promulgation of Implementation 

Plans and Operating Permits Program; State of 

Missouri;’’ U.S. Environmental Protection Agency; 

July 11, 2006 (71 FR 38997); http://www.gpo.gov/ 

fdsys/pkg/FR-2006-07-11/html/06-6092.htm); (7) 

Nebraska for hot mix asphalt facilities and small 

animal incinerators (‘‘Approval and Promulgation 

of Implementation Plans and Operating Permits 

Program; State of Nebraska;’’ U.S. Environmental 

Protection Agency; July 10, 2006 (71 FR 38776); 

http://www.gpo.gov/fdsys/granule/FR-2006-07-10/ 

E6-10730/content-detail.html); (8) Auto body 

refinishing facilities; GDFs; boilers and heaters; 

small printing facilities; and mid-size printing 

facilities (‘‘Approval and Promulgation of Air 

Quality Implementation Plans; Ohio; PBR and 

PTIO;’’ U.S. Environmental Protection Agency; 

February 20, 2013 (78 FR 11748); http:// 

www.gpo.gov/fdsys/pkg/FR-2013-02-20/html/2013- 

03761.htm); and (9) multiple source categories, 

such as: Batch mixers; comfort heating; rock 

crushers; saw mills; vacuum cleaning systems 

(August 13, 1982 (47 FR 35194) and (‘‘Approval and 

Promulgation of Implementation Plans; Texas; 

Revisions to Regulations for Permits by Rule, 

Control of Air Pollution by Permits for New 

Construction or Modification, and Federal 

Operating Permits;’’ U.S. Environmental Protection 

Agency; November 14, 2003 (68 FR 64543); http:// 

www.gpo.gov/fdsys/pkg/FR-2003-11-14/pdf/03- 

28416.pdf). 

3. Request for Comment on the 

Proposed General Air Quality Permit for 

New or Modified True Minor Source 

Sawmill Facilities 

We request comment on all aspects of 

the general permit for sawmill facilities. 

We specifically request comment in the 

following two areas: 

(a) Use of Tons Per Year Numbers as 

Emission Limitations 

The EPA is proposing to include 

annual allowable emission limitations 

for the sawmills source category. The 

proposed general permit includes both a 

limitation of 25 million board feet on a 

12-month rolling total and total tpy VOC 

emissions limitations for the facility 

regardless of its location. The tpy 

limitations become more stringent in 

ozone nonattainment areas as the 

classification increases from marginal to 

extreme.42 We set the proposed VOC 

emissions limitations at levels that we 

believe are sufficiently below the NSR 

major source levels to accommodate any 

additional VOC emissions from any 

boilers or emergency engines also 

present at the facility beyond VOC 

emissions from lumber drying kilns. 

Sources will need to monitor their 

board-foot production and perform 

emission factor calculations using the 

calculator and emissions factors that we 

are providing to ensure they are staying 

within the permitted tpy limitations. 

Aside from the maximum 25 million 

board-feet limit, we opted to not 

propose surrogate throughput limits for 

VOC emissions for sawmills, as we did 

for one other source category, because of 

the diversity of wood species (and 

associated emissions) that a sawmill 

facility may use. It would be very 

difficult to set a board foot throughput 

limit that could have broad 

applicability. Instead, by putting 

emissions limitations directly in the 

permit, it provides the source with 

flexibility on what wood species it uses, 

while ensuring that air quality is 

protected. We request comment on the 

appropriateness of establishing 

emissions limitations in the permit 

(versus a limit on throughput) and 

whether the specified limitations are 

established at the correct levels. 

b. Setback Requirement 

The proposed general permit requires 

sawmill facilities to locate at least 150 

feet from the nearest property boundary 

and 1,000 feet from the nearest 

residence. This is consistent with the 

setback requirement in the state of 

Texas’ 43 general permit that includes a 

setback requirement for this source 

category. We believe that this 

requirement will minimize the impact 

of emissions from these sources on 

localized air quality. We request 

comment on whether we should include 

this setback requirement in the final 

permit to provide additional protection 

against adverse impacts to local air 

quality. In addition, we request 

comment on whether there are other 

neighboring types of buildings from 

which the setback should apply (e.g., 

schools, nursing homes) and whether to 

require owners/operators of the 

sawmills subject to the permit to use 

physical markers on their property to 

show compliance with the setback 

requirements. 

VII. Description of the EPA’s Proposed 

Permit by Rule Program in Indian 

Country 

A. What is a permit by rule? 

For purposes of this proposal, a 

permit by rule is a standard set of 

requirements (i.e., emissions 

limitations, monitoring, recordkeeping 

and reporting requirements) that can 

apply to multiple sources with similar 

emissions and other characteristics. 

This is similar to a general permit; 

however, unlike a general permit, we 

codify the permit by rule requirements 

into regulation using a formal 

rulemaking process. (While a proposed 

general permit is subject to notice and 

comment in accordance with 40 CFR 

49.156 and 40 CFR 49.157, neither the 

final general permit itself, nor the 

requirements therein, are added to the 

Code of Federal Regulations.) 

For purposes of this proposal, the 

permit by rule mechanism is a permit 

streamlining approach that reduces the 

time permitting authorities must devote 

to reviewing permit applications and 

issuing permits for source categories or 

emissions generating activities that pose 

a lower environmental concern. We 

believe that permits by rule offer 

another cost-effective means of issuing 

permits, and provide a quicker and 

simpler alternative mechanism for 

permitting true minor sources than the 

site-specific permit or standard general 

permit process. 

State and local reviewing authorities 

use the permit by rule mechanism to 

authorize construction of less complex 

sources, and sources that emit at 

specified levels below the major 

stationary source thresholds. The EPA 

has approved several state or local 

permits by rule programs into State 

Implementation Plans (SIPs).44 By this 

proposal, we would provide similar 

opportunities for permitting efficiency 

in Indian country for a specified source 

category, while also providing a level of 

protection of air quality comparable to 

that provided by a general permit. 


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45 ‘‘General Permits and Permits by Rule for the 

Federal Minor New Source Review Program in 

Indian Country,’’ U.S. Environmental Protection 

Agency, January 14, 2014 (79 FR 2546), pp. 2566– 

2567, http://www.gpo.gov/fdsys/pkg/FR-2014-01- 

14/pdf/2013-30345.pdf. 

46For general permits, we refer to applications 

submitted to reviewing authorities for approval as 

requests for coverage. For permits by rule, we are 

proposing to not require that these requests for 

coverage be submitted for approval. Instead, sources 

would be required to notify the EPA by letter that 

the request for coverage has been completed and 

that the source qualifies for the permit and will 

comply with all of its terms and conditions. 

B. How would a permit by rule program 

operate in Indian Country? 

As discussed in a prior proposed rule 

(79 FR 2546, January 14, 2014), once the 

EPA identifies a source category or 

emissions generating activity for which 

the permit by rule mechanism would 

offer permit streamlining benefits, while 

at the same time protecting air quality, 

we will codify a nationally applicable 

permit by rule for those similar sources 

into a new section of the Indian Country 

Minor NSR FIP following notice and 

comment rulemaking procedures. If the 

permit by rule will apply only at a 

regional level, then the EPA regional 

reviewing authority will conduct the 

rulemaking process, and appropriately 

limit the applicability of the permit by 

rule to a specified geographic area. 

As proposed, permits by rule would 

be used to address source categories of 

true minor sources, where the reviewing 

authority does not need to conduct an 

in-depth review to evaluate whether an 

individual source qualifies for the 

permit (i.e., meets the applicability 

requirements) and can meet the 

requirements in the permit. A source 

category would be covered by a permit 

by rule if the reviewing authority needs 

to do nothing more than receive 

confirmation from an individual source 

that it meets all appropriate criteria to 

be eligible for coverage under the permit 

by rule and that it intends to comply 

with the operational, monitoring and 

recordkeeping requirements specified in 

this rule. (By contrast, under a general 

permit the source would need to submit 

a request for coverage to the reviewing 

authority and receive an approval from 

that authority before starting source 

construction.) 

In our January 14, 2014 proposed rule, 

we proposed to amend the Indian 

Country Minor NSR rule general permit 

provisions at 40 CFR 49.156 to set forth 

the unique elements of the permits by 

rule process.45 We intend to take final 

action on the proposed approach as part 

of taking final action on the overall 

January 14, 2014 proposal and are not 

re-proposing those elements here. In 

today’s action, in the alternative, we are 

proposing a permit by rule for the 

graphic arts and printing source 

category, as described above. If we 

finalize the procedure for establishing 

permits by rule set forth in our January 

14, 2014, proposed rule, we will follow 

the procedure as finalized in 

promulgating a final permit by rule for 

the graphic arts and printing source 

category. We will only promulgate a 

permit by rule for the graphic arts and 

printing source category if, after 

considering any comments we receive 

in response to today’s proposal, we 

conclude that establishing such a permit 

is appropriate. We seek comment on 

whether graphic arts and printing 

operations is an appropriate source 

category for a permit by rule. 

C. Requirements of the ESA and NHPA 

Similar to general permits, prior to 

seeking coverage under a permit by rule, 

a source must satisfactorily address the 

permit requirements related to the ESA 

and the NHPA. Attached to the request 

for coverage,46 the EPA provides 

guidance to assist sources in complying 

with these requirements. Section V.F. 

above describes the process for 

complying with the ESA and NHPA in 

more detail. We seek comment on the 

use of this process for the proposed 

graphic arts and printing operations 

permit by rule. 

VIII. Proposed Permits by Rule 

As an alternative to a general permit, 

we are proposing to establish a permit 

by rule, for one source category: Graphic 

arts and printing operations. We are 

proposing this source category for a 

permit by rule based on our 

determination that this source category 

emits primarily one pollutant (i.e., 

VOCs), that there is little variation in 

the equipment used, and that the 

compliance requirements are 

straightforward and readily verifiable. 

By contrast, the other five source 

categories in today’s proposal, to 

varying degrees, involve more complex 

operations, more than one pollutant and 

more complex compliance 

requirements. The source categories are: 

• Concrete batch plants; 

• Boilers; 

• Stationary compression ignition 

engines; 

• Stationary spark ignition engines; 

and 

• Sawmills. 

In Section VI. we describe these source 

categories and the requirements in the 

proposed permits that warrant a general 

permit proposal for them, including the 

multiple emissions units covered. 

We are not providing specific 

regulatory language for the proposed 

permit by rule but rather are proposing 

to codify the requirements of the 

proposed general permit for this source 

category described in Section VI.D. If, 

after considering relevant comments 

received in response to today’s 

proposed action, we decide to finalize a 

permit by rule for the source category, 

we will codify the requirements as 

contained in the proposed general 

permit for the source category, 

including any changes that we deem 

appropriate based on our review of 

public comments on the proposed 

general permit and other relevant 

information. In other words, whether we 

use the permit by rule or the standard 

general permit mechanism, we propose 

to apply identical requirements to 

regulate construction and modification 

activities of affected emission units in 

the graphic arts and printing operations 

source category. We believe that the 

proposed general permit provides the 

public with a sufficient understanding 

of the contents of any final rule, and, 

therefore, satisfies our obligations under 

section 301(a) of the CAA and the 

Administrative Procedures Act. 

The EPA welcomes comments on all 

aspects of the proposed general permit 

and proposed permit by rule for the 

graphic arts and printing operations 

source category discussed in this notice. 

In particular, we request comments on 

whether the permit by rule terms and 

conditions for graphic arts and printing 

operations should be identical to the 

general permit terms and conditions, or 

whether they should differ. 

IX. Implementation Documents and 

Tools 

We are providing several tools and 

documents to assist sources with 

obtaining coverage under the general 

permits and permit by rule for the six 

source categories that are the subject of 

today’s proposal. The tools are drafted 

based on our preferred approach of 

general permits. If we decide to issue a 

permit by rule for the graphic arts and 

printing operations source category as 

we are proposing in the alternative 

today, then we will need to adjust the 

wording in the documents to reflect that 

tools being made available are for a 

permit by rule and not a general permit. 

The background document for graphic 

arts and printing operations supports 

both our general permit proposal and 

permit by rule proposal, in the 

alternative; therefore, the document 

cites both general permits and permits 

by rule as the permit types it supports. 

The tools consist of the following six 

types of documents: 


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Request for Coverage: This form is for 

sources seeking to use general permits 

and is essentially an application to 

request coverage under a general permit. 

The application asks for contact and 

location information, as well as more indepth operational and source-specific 

information. The application will also 

guide sources through processes to 

comply with permit requirements 

related to the ESA and the NHPA. 

The general permit application for 

graphic arts and printing operations is 

more streamlined because sources in the 

category represent more straightforward 

operations, largely involve one air 

pollutant (i.e., VOCs) and, therefore, 

necessitate less intensive review for 

approval. The general permit 

application form for the category asks 

for basic solvent usage information and 

whether the source has complied or will 

comply with relevant requirements. By 

contrast, the general permit applications 

for concrete batch plants, engines, 

boilers and sawmills request more 

detailed technical information about the 

proposed facility in question because 

these facilities are more complex and 

can involve multiple operations and 

pollutants. 

For graphic arts and printing 

operations, this form also serves as an 

application for sources seeking coverage 

under a permit by rule should the EPA 

decide to issue one for this category. In 

such circumstances, the source would 

need to complete the shortened 

application and keep a record on file. 

Successfully completing the application 

will enable the source to determine if it 

can certify to the reviewing authority 

that it meets the permit’s eligibility 

terms and conditions, which the source 

would need to do via a letter in order 

to begin its construction or 

modification. 

Questionnaire: This tool is tailored to 

each source category and guides sources 

through a series of questions to 

determine whether it is eligible for 

coverage under a general permit. It is 

not required to be completed or 

submitted. First, the source needs to 

determine whether it is a true minor 

source and, therefore, subject to the 

requirements of the minor NSR rule for 

Indian country. To do this, a source 

needs to perform a PTE analysis of all 

of its new, modified and existing 

emissions units (see PTE calculator 

below). If the source determines that it 

is a true minor, the questionnaire asks 

the source to consider a series of 

questions to determine if it qualifies for 

the specific general permit or permit by 

rule. If the source does not qualify for 

coverage, then it must seek a sitespecific permit under the minor source 

program (or a major source permit, if 

appropriate). 

Instructions: The document assists 

sources with information that may be 

useful in completing the request for 

coverage application. 

Permit Terms and Conditions: The 

permit is a specific document for each 

source category that lays out the general 

and specific terms and conditions of the 

permit, including the specific emission 

limitations and standards and 

monitoring, recordkeeping, reporting 

and notification requirements. 

PTE Calculator: This spreadsheetbased tool helps sources in specific 

source categories calculate the PTE of 

their affected emissions units, using 

data the source is expected to have on 

hand, such as equipment specifications. 

Background Documents: These 

documents are provided as a reference 

and contain important information: 

• Source category definition and 

characterization; 

• State minor source permit programs 

for that category used for comparison; 

• Requirements for general permits 

and permits by rule for that category; 

and 

• Threshold (emission limitations) 

development and rationale for that 

category. 

All of these documents are available 

online at http://www.epa.gov/air/tribal/ 

tribalnsr.html and Docket ID No. EPA– 

HQ–OAR–2011–0151. 

X. Additional Area Where Comment is 

Being Sought 

A. Should general permits and permits 

by rule be made available for sources in 

the same source category? 

In our January 14, 2014 proposed rule, 

the EPA requested comments on 

whether, for certain source categories, 

the EPA should structure the permits so 

that eligible true minor sources can 

receive coverage under permits by rule 

and synthetic minor sources receive 

coverage under general permits. In 

addition, just as we proposed that 

general permits are more appropriate for 

more complex source categories, we 

requested comment on whether general 

permits (and not permits by rule) are 

more appropriate for major sources that 

seek to become ‘‘synthetic’’ minor 

sources. And, as we proposed that 

permits by rule are more appropriate for 

less complex source categories, we 

requested comments on whether 

permits by rule (and not general 

permits) are more appropriate for true 

minor sources. In this action, we request 

comment only on whether this concept 

should be applied to the graphic arts 

and printing operations source category. 

In the docket, a background document 

is provided for this source category, 

which includes a summary of National 

Emissions Inventory data for the 

category. 

XI. Proposed Rule Change to the Indian 

Country Minor NSR Rule 

We are proposing one change to one 

provision in the existing Indian country 

minor NSR rule addressing the time 

period within which the reviewing 

authority must make a determination on 

whether a request for coverage under a 

general permit is complete and to 

complete its review of the request for 

coverage. We are proposing this change 

only for the general permit for the 

graphic arts and printing operations 

source category. The Indian County 

Minor NSR rule currently requires the 

reviewing authority to determine 

whether a request for coverage under a 

general permit is complete within 45 

days of receiving the request (40 CFR 

49.156(e)(4)) and to take final action on 

the request within 90 days of receiving 

a complete request (40 CFR 

49.156(e)(3)). For the proposed general 

permit for the graphic arts and printing 

operations source category, we are 

proposing to shorten the time for 

determining whether a request for 

coverage is complete to 15 days (by that 

date the reviewing authority must either 

determine that the request for coverage 

is complete or request any additional 

information) and to shorten the time 

within which the reviewing authority 

must take final action on the request to 

45 days. We explained our general 

rationale for taking this approach for 

some, but not all, general permits in our 

January 14, 2014, proposed rule. 

We are proposing the shortened time 

frames for the graphic arts and printing 

operations source category only. We 

also propose to provide the reviewing 

authority the option of automatically 

denying a source’s request for coverage 

if the source fails to submit any 

additional requested information within 

15 days of receiving the request from the 

reviewing authority to remain consistent 

with our intent to provide a streamlined 

notification and review process. If a 

reviewing authority denies a request for 

coverage because a source fails to 

submit requested information by the 

deadline, the source may re-apply at a 

later date to re-initiate the request for 

coverage. 

We believe that a shortened 

application review process for the 

graphic arts and printing operations 

general permit is justified because the 

streamlined nature of the general permit 

for the graphic arts and printing 

operations source category is 


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inconsistent with lengthy and 

potentially open-ended ongoing 

exchanges with applicants to obtain 

necessary information and is not the 

best use of limited resources. The 

applications are lengthier for the other 

four source categories in today’s 

proposal and, therefore, a lengthier 90 

day review process is appropriate for 

those categories. In Section IX., we 

explain our reasoning for why the 

application is shorter for graphic arts 

and printing operations and longer for 

the other four categories. Allowing this 

streamlining (combined with a shorter 

application for this same category) will 

allow for reduced processing time for a 

general permit coverage request for this 

category and a reduction in information 

required to be included in requests for 

coverage. 

XII. Statutory and Executive Order 

Reviews 

A. Executive Order 12866: Regulatory 

Planning and Review and Executive 

Order 13563: Improving Regulation and 

Regulatory Review 

This action is not a ‘‘significant 

regulatory action’’ under the terms of 

EO 12866 (58 FR 51735, October 4, 

1993) and is, therefore, not subject to 

review under EOs 12866 and 13563 (76 

FR 3821, January 21, 2011). 

B. Paperwork Reduction Act 

This action does not impose an 

information collection burden under the 

provisions of the Paperwork Reduction 

Act, 44 U.S.C. 3501 et seq. Burden is 

defined at 5 CFR 1320.3(b). This action 

merely proposes to establish general 

permits and/or permits by rule to satisfy 

the requirements of the Indian Country 

Minor NSR rule. Any burden associated 

with information required to be 

collected pursuant to the proposed 

general permits and/or permit by rule 

has already been accounted for in the 

approved information collection request 

for the Indian Country Minor NSR rule. 

Further, any use of the general permits 

and/or permit by rule is strictly 

voluntary. Therefore, this action does 

not impose an information collection 

burden. 

C. Regulatory Flexibility Act 

The Regulatory Flexibility Act 

generally requires an agency to prepare 

a regulatory flexibility analysis of any 

rule subject to notice and comment 

rulemaking requirements under the 

Administrative Procedure Act or any 

other statute unless the agency certifies 

that the rule will not have a significant 

economic impact on a substantial 

number of small entities. Small entities 

include small businesses, small 

organizations, and small governmental 

jurisdictions. 

For purposes of assessing the impacts 

of today’s rule on small entities, small 

entity is defined as: (1) A small business 

as defined by the Small Business 

Administration’s regulations at 13 CFR 

121.201; (2) a small governmental 

jurisdiction that is a government of a 

city, county, town, school district or 

special district with a population of less 

than 50,000; and (3) a small 

organization that is any not-for-profit 

enterprise which is independently 

owned and operated and is not 

dominant in its field. 

After considering the economic 

impacts of today’s proposed rule on 

small entities, I certify that this action 

will not have a significant economic 

impact on a substantial number of small 

entities. The EPA analyzed the impact 

of streamlined permitting on small 

entities in the Review of New Sources 

and Modifications in Indian Country (76 

FR 38748, July 1, 2011). Today’s action 

will not impose any requirements on 

small entities, as it merely implements 

a particular aspect of the Review of New 

Sources and Modifications in Indian 

Country. 

D. Unfunded Mandates Reform Act 

This action contains no federal 

mandates under the provisions of Title 

II of the Unfunded Mandates Reform 

Act of 1995 (UMRA), 2 U.S.C. 1531– 

1538 for state, local, or tribal 

governments or the private sector. This 

action imposes no enforceable duty on 

any state, local or tribal government or 

the private sector. Therefore, this action 

is not subject to the requirements of 

sections 202 and 205 of the UMRA. This 

action is also not subject to the 

requirements of section 203 of UMRA 

because it contains no regulatory 

requirements that might significantly or 

uniquely affect small governments. This 

rule has no requirements applicable to 

small governments and, as such, does 

not impose obligations upon them. 

E. Executive Order 13132: Federalism 

This action does not have federalism 

implications. It will not have substantial 

direct effects on the states, on the 

relationship between the national 

government and the states, or on the 

distribution of power and 

responsibilities among the various 

levels of government, as specified in EO 

13132. This action merely proposes to 

provide sources in Indian country with 

streamlined permitting opportunities 

that are generally available in states 

outside of Indian country. It does not 

impose any new obligations or 

enforceable duties on any state, local or 

tribal government or the private sector. 

Thus, EO 13132 does not apply to this 

rule. 

In the spirit of EO 13132, and 

consistent with the EPA policy to 

promote communications between the 

EPA and state and local governments, 

the EPA specifically solicits comment 

on this proposed action from state and 

local officials. 

F. Executive Order 13175: Consultation 

and Coordination With Indian Tribal 

Governments 

Pursuant to the EO 13175 (65 FR 

67249, November 9, 2000), the EPA may 

not issue a regulation that has tribal 

implications, that imposes substantial 

direct compliance costs, and that is not 

required by statute, unless the federal 

government provides the funds 

necessary to pay the direct compliance 

costs incurred by tribal governments, or 

the EPA consults with tribal officials 

early in the process of developing the 

proposed regulation and develops a 

tribal summary impact statement. 

The EPA has concluded that this 

action will not impose duties or 

responsibilities on tribes, although it 

will have tribal implications. The EPA 

has conducted outreach via on-going 

monthly meetings with tribal 

environmental professionals in the 

development of this proposed action. 

This proposal reflects priorities for 

developing permits, comments on the 

general permits and suggestions for 

developing permits by rules developed 

as a result of that outreach. The EPA 

will offer consultation to elected tribal 

officials immediately after proposal to 

provide an opportunity for meaningful 

and timely input into the development 

of this regulation. 

The EPA specifically solicits 

additional comment on this proposed 

action from tribal officials. 

G. Executive Order 13045: Protection of 

Children From Environmental Health 

Risks and Safety Risks 

The EPA interprets EO 13045 (62 FR 

19885, April 23, 1997) as applying only 

to those regulatory actions that concern 

health or safety risks, such that the 

analysis required under section 5–501 of 

the EO has the potential to influence the 

regulation. This action is not subject to 

EO 13045 because it does not establish 

an environmental standard intended to 

mitigate health or safety risks. 

H. Executive Order 13211: Actions That 

Significantly Affect Energy Supply, 

Distribution, or Use 

This action is not subject to EO 13211 

(66 FR 28355 (May 22, 2001)) because 


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47 Information on any available voluntary 

consensus standards that can used as alternatives to 

the emissions measurement standards in the 

General Air Quality Permit for New or Modified 

True Minor Source Spark Ignition Engines can be 

found in: ‘‘Voluntary Consensus Standard Results 

for General Permits and Permits by Rule for the 

Indian Country Minor New Source Review Program; 

40 CFR part 49, subparts 156(c) and 162,’’ from 

Robin Segall, Acting Group Leader, Measurement 

Technology Group, to Laura McKelvey, Community 

and Tribal Programs Group, February 7, 2014, 

Docket ID No. EPA–HQ–OAR–2011–0151, http:// 

www.epa.gov/air/tribal/tribalnsr.html. 

it is not a significant regulatory action 

under EO 12866. 

I. National Technology Transfer and 

Advancement Act 

Section 12(d) of the National 

Technology Transfer and Advancement 

Act of 1995 (‘‘NTTAA’’), Public Law 

104–113, 12(d) (15 U.S.C. 272 note) 

directs the EPA to use voluntary 

consensus standards in its regulatory 

activities unless to do so would be 

inconsistent with applicable law or 

otherwise impractical. Voluntary 

consensus standards are technical 

standards (e.g., materials specifications, 

test methods, sampling procedures, and 

business practices) that are developed or 

adopted by voluntary consensus 

standards bodies. The NTTAA directs 

the EPA to provide Congress, through 

the Office of Management and Budget, 

explanations when the agency decides 

not to use available and applicable 

voluntary consensus standards. 

The proposed rulemaking involves 

technical standards. In the proposed 

permits the EPA proposes the use of 

EPA Methods 5, 7, 9, 10, 18, 22 and 25A 

of 40 CFR part 60, Appendix A.47 Three 

voluntary consensus standards were 

identified as applicable for purposes of 

this proposal: 

1. ANSI/ASME PTC 19.10–1981 part 10 

‘‘Flue and Exhaust Gas Analyses’’ 

(alternative to EPA Method 7); 

2. ASTM D7520–09 ‘‘Standard Test 

Method for Determining Opacity of a 

Plume in the Outdoor Ambient 

Atmosphere’’ (alternative to EPA 

Method 9); and 

3. ASTM D6420–99 (2010) ‘‘Test 

method for Determination of Gaseous 

Organic Compounds by Direct 

Interface Gas Chromatography/Mass 

Spectrometry’’ (alternative to EPA 

Method 18). 

The EPA welcomes comments on this 

aspect of the proposed rulemaking and, 

specifically, invites the public to 

identify potentially-applicable 

voluntary consensus standards and to 

explain why such standards should be 

used in this regulation. 

J. Executive Order 12898: Federal 

Actions To Address Environmental 

Justice in Minority Populations and 

Low-Income Populations 

E.O. 12898 (59 FR 7629 (Feb. 16, 

1994)) establishes federal executive 

policy on environmental justice. Its 

main provision directs federal agencies, 

to the greatest extent practicable and 

permitted by law, to make 

environmental justice part of their 

mission by identifying and addressing, 

as appropriate, disproportionately high 

and adverse human health or 

environmental effects of its programs, 

policies, and activities on minorities 

and low-income populations in the 

United States. 

The EPA has determined that this 

proposed rule will not have 

disproportionately high and adverse 

human health or environmental effects 

on minority or low-income populations 

because it does not affect the level of 

protection provided to human health or 

the environment. This proposed rule 

merely implements certain aspects of 

the Review of New Sources and 

Modifications in Indian Country. As 

such, this proposed action will not have 

a disproportionately high and adverse 

human health or environmental effects 

on minorities and low-income 

populations in the United States. 

Our primary goal in developing the 

general permits and permits by rule is 

to ensure that air resources in Indian 

country will be protected in the manner 

intended by the CAA. In particular, this 

rule will help minimize air quality 

impacts from new or modified true 

minor sources in Indian country. In 

addition, we seek to establish a flexible 

preconstruction permitting program for 

minor sources in Indian country that is 

comparable to similar programs in 

neighboring states to create a more level 

regulatory playing field for owners and 

operators within and outside of Indian 

country. This rule will reduce an 

existing disparity by filling the 

regulatory gap. 

List of Subjects in 40 CFR Part 49 

Environmental protection, 

Administrative practices and 

procedures, Air pollution control, 

Indians, Indians-law, Indians-tribal 

government, Intergovernmental 

relations, Reporting and recordkeeping 

requirements. 

Dated: July 11, 2014. 

Gina McCarthy, 

Administrator. 

[FR Doc. 2014–16814 Filed 7–16–14; 8:45 am] 

BILLING CODE 6560–50–P 


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