UNITED STATES ENVIRONMENTAL PROTECTION AGENCY 

REGION 8
 

1595 Wynkoop Street
 

DENVER, CO 80202-11.29
 

Phone 800-227-8917
 

http://www.epa.gov/region08 

Ref: 8P-AR 

Cheryl Heying, Director 

Air Quality Division 

Department of Environmental Quality 

P.O. Box 144820 

Salt Lake City, DT 84114-4820 

RE: Utah's Regional Haze State Implementation Plan, Section XX 

Dear Cheryl: 

The purpose of this letter is to provide comments on Utah's proposed Regional Haze 

State Implementation Plan (RH SIP) open for public comment until March 3, 2011. The 

proposed SIP addresses the regional haze requirements for Utah's mandatory Class I areas under 

40 C.F.R. 51.309. We have completed an initial review of the proposed RH SIP and are 

providing our preliminary comments below. 

1.	 Utah's proposed RH SIP does not contain a five factor BART analysis for NOx and PM, 

as required by 40 CFR §51.309(d)(4)(vii). States doing a 309 RH SIP must still do a 

BART analyses according to 40 CFR §51.308(e). Under 40 CFR §51.308(e)(I)(ii)(A), 

states "must take into consideration the technology available, the costs of compliance, the 

energy and non-air quality environmental impacts of compliance, any pollution control 

equipment in usc at the source, and the remaining useful life of the source." The Clean 

Air Act (CAA) also requires States to consider the five factors in making their BART 

determinations (see CAA §169A(g)(2». 

NOTE: Where five factor analyses have been completed consistent with the rules, they 

have generally resulted in substantial upgrades to pollution controls for nitrogen oxides 

(NOx). These upgrades will result in significant visibility improvements. Therefore, full 

and effective implementation ofthis requirement is very important. 

2.	 As proposed, the State's RH SIP does not contain the elements necessary to make BART 

limits practically enforceable. Utah's proposed SIP contains controls, emission limits 

and general schedules but does not include permit conditions specifying averaging times, 

record-keeping, monitoring, and specific schedules for compliance. The CAA requires 

that SIPs, including the RH SIP, contain elements sufficient to ensure emission limits are 
practically enforceable. l Other applicable regulatory provisions are contained in 

Appendix V to Part 51- Criteria for Determining the Completeness of Plan Submissions. 2 

It is not sufficient to include these elements in a separate permit or agreement that is not 

made part oftbe SIP. EPA does not consider permit conditions adequate to meet this 

enforceability requirement, as permit conditions may be modified. 

3.	 We also note that the BART guidelines require a 30-day averaging period for BART 

limits (see 70 FR 39172, col. 3, July 6,2005). We view a 30-day or shorter averaging 

period as being necessary to protect visibility in the nearby Class I areas, since visibility 

is sensitive to short term spikes in pollutants which contribute to visibility impairment. 

We want to emphasize that we will only come to a final conclusion on the adequacy of 

Utah's RH SIP when we act on the SIP through public comment and rulemaking. We want to 

acknowledge the State's efforts in revising the 309 Backstop Trading Program milestones. We 

have appreciated working with you and your staff during this process. If you have any questions. 

please contact Monica Morales at (303) 312-6936, or your staff may contact Laurel Dygowski at 

(303) 312-6144. 

Sincerely, 

COL~/4f!~ Deborah Lebow-Aal, Acting Director 

Air Program 

cc: Amanda Smith, Executive Director, UDEQ 

I CAA Section II 0(a)(2) states that SIPs "shall (A) include enforceable emIssion limitations and other control 

measures, means, or techniques (including economic incentives such as fees, marketable perm its, and auctions of 

emissions rights), as well as schedules and timetables for compliance, as may be necessary or appropriate to meet 

the appl icable requirements of this chapter; (C) include a program to provide for the enforcement of the measures 

described in subparagraph (A), and regulation of the modification and construction of any stationary source within 

the areas covered by the plan as necessary to assure that national ambient air quality standards are achieved, 

including a permit program as required in parts C and D of this subchapter; (F) require, as may be prescribed by the 

Administrator - (i) the installation, maintenance, and replacement of equipment, and the implementation of other 

necessary steps, by owners or operators of stationary sources to monitor emissions from such sources, 

(ii) periodic reports on the nature and amounts of emissions and emissions-related data from such sources, and 

(iii) correlation of such reports by the State agency with any emission limitations or standards established pursuant 

to this chapter, which reports shall be available at reasonable times for public inspeclion" 

2 Appendix V part 51 states in section 2.2 that complete SIPs comain: "(g) Evidence that the plan contains emission 

limitations, work practice standards and recordkeeping/reporting requirements, where necessary, to ensure emission 

leve Is": and" (h) CompIiance!en forcement strategies, inc luding how comp Iiance wi II be determ incd in practice.. '