Document ID: EPA-R05-OAR-2023-0031-0002
Agency: epa
Document Type: Rule
Title: Direct Final approval of Michigan DTE Consent Order Revisions
Posted Date: 2023-07-24T04:00Z

[Federal Register Volume 88, Number 140 (Monday, July 24, 2023)]
[Rules and Regulations]
[Pages 47377-47379]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2023-15404]

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ENVIRONMENTAL PROTECTION AGENCY

40 CFR Part 52

[EPA-R05-OAR-2023-0031; FRL-10954-02-R5]

Air Plan Approval; Michigan; DTE River Rouge

AGENCY: Environmental Protection Agency (EPA).

ACTION: Direct final rule.

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SUMMARY: The Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) is approving a 
request submitted by the Michigan Department of Environment, Great 
Lakes, and Energy (EGLE) on January 12, 2023, and supplemented on April 
19, 2023, to revise the Michigan state implementation plan (SIP) for 
particulate matter (PM). The revision updates the fugitive dust plan 
for the Detroit Edison--River Rouge Power Plant (DTE Energy) located in 
River Rouge, Michigan. The facility is no longer in operation and 
therefore, the plan eliminates requirements to reflect plant shut down.

DATES: This direct final rule will be effective September 22, 2023, 
unless EPA receives adverse comments by August 23, 2023. If adverse 
comments are received, EPA will publish a timely withdrawal of the 
direct final rule in the Federal Register informing the public that the 
rule will not take effect.

ADDRESSES: Submit your comments, identified by Docket ID No. EPA-R05-
OAR-2023-0031 at https://www.regulations.gov or via email to 
[email protected]. For comments submitted at Regulations.gov, 
follow the online instructions for submitting comments. Once submitted, 
comments cannot be edited or removed from Regulations.gov. For either 
manner of submission, EPA may publish any comment received to its 
public docket. Do not submit electronically any information you 
consider to be Confidential Business Information (CBI) or other 
information whose disclosure is restricted by statute. Multimedia 
submissions (audio, video, etc.) must be accompanied by a written 
comment. The written comment is considered the official comment and 
should include discussion of all points you wish to make. EPA will 
generally not consider comments or comment contents located

[[Page 47378]]

outside of the primary submission (i.e., on the web, cloud, or other 
file sharing system). For additional submission methods, please contact 
the person identified in the FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT section. 
For the full EPA public comment policy, information about CBI or 
multimedia submissions, and general guidance on making effective 
comments, please visit https://www2.epa.gov/dockets/commenting-epa-dockets.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Charles Hatten, Environmental 
Engineer, Control Strategies Section, Air Programs Branch (AR-18J), 
Environmental Protection Agency, Region 5, 77 West Jackson Boulevard, 
Chicago, Illinois 60604, (312) 886-6031, [email protected]. The 
EPA Region 5 office is open from 8:30 a.m. to 4:30 p.m., Monday through 
Friday, excluding Federal holidays and facility closures due to COVID-
19.

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: Throughout this document whenever ``we,'' 
``us,'' or ``our'' is used, we mean EPA.

I. General Information

    On January 12, 2023, EGLE submitted a revision to the fugitive dust 
plan (FDP) for DTE Energy River Rouge facility. The original FDP was 
approved into the SIP on January 17, 1995 (60 FR 3346), pursuant to 
Consent Order No. 9-1993. The purpose of the FDP was to reduce the PM 
emissions of fugitive dust from coal handling activities, exposed areas 
and storage piles, and vehicle traffic while the facility was in 
operation. In 2021, DTE Energy retired their coal-fired boilers, and 
thus, no longer functioned as a base-load power plant. In 2022, DTE 
Energy no longer served as a coal handling and processing plant for the 
steel mill operations at Cleveland-Cliffs in Dearborn and U.S. Steel in 
River Rouge.
    In accordance with the stipulation 13.B.(1) of the Consent Order, 
DTE Energy may revise the Control Program provided that: (a) DTE Energy 
demonstrates, in writing, that the proposed revision does not result in 
an increase in the level of fugitive dust or particulate emissions and 
submits the demonstration to the EGLE for approval; (b) The revision is 
approved.
    The changes to the FDP, as determined by EGLE, will not increase in 
the level of fugitive dust emissions at DTE Energy. The facility is 
adjusting its FDP to reflect that it has shut down and no longer 
necessary to implement the measures needed to address air quality 
issues associated with coal handling activities, vehicle traffic, and 
retirement of equipment with coal processing. Therefore, no increased 
PM emissions will result. Since the plant has ceased operations EGLE 
approved the revised FDP for the DTE Energy facility.

II. What action is EPA taking?

    EPA is approving a revision to the FDP for DTE Energy into the 
Michigan SIP. The revision to the FDP will not result in an increase in 
fugitive dust emissions at the DTE Energy facility.
    We are publishing this action without prior proposal because we 
view this as a noncontroversial amendment and anticipate no adverse 
comments. However, in the proposed rules section of this Federal 
Register publication, we are publishing a separate document that will 
serve as the proposal to approve the state plan if relevant adverse 
written comments are filed. This rule will be effective September 22, 
2023 without further notice unless we receive relevant adverse written 
comments by August 23, 2023. If we receive such comments, we will 
withdraw this action before the effective date by publishing a 
subsequent document that will withdraw the final action. All public 
comments received will then be addressed in a subsequent final rule 
based on the proposed action. EPA will not institute a second comment 
period. Any parties interested in commenting on this action should do 
so at this time. Please note that if EPA receives adverse comment on an 
amendment, paragraph, or section of this rule and if that provision may 
be severed from the remainder of the rule, EPA may adopt as final those 
provisions of the rule that are not the subject of an adverse comment. 
If we do not receive any comments, this action will be effective 
September 22, 2023.

III. Incorporation by Reference

    In this rule, EPA is finalizing regulatory text that includes 
incorporation by reference. In accordance with requirements of 1 CFR 
51.5, EPA is finalizing the incorporation by reference of the Michigan 
Consent Order described in section I. of this preamble and set forth in 
the amendments to 40 CFR part 52 below. EPA has made, and will continue 
to make, these documents generally available through 
www.regulations.gov and at the EPA Region 5 Office (please contact the 
person identified in the FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT section of 
this preamble for more information). Therefore, these materials have 
been approved by EPA for inclusion in the SIP, have been incorporated 
by reference by EPA into that plan, are fully federally enforceable 
under sections 110 and 113 of the Clean Air Act (CAA) as of the 
effective date of the final rulemaking of EPA's approval, and will be 
incorporated by reference in the next update to the SIP compilation.\1\
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    \1\ 62 FR 27968 (May 22, 1997).
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IV. Statutory and Executive Order Reviews

    Under the CAA, the Administrator is required to approve a SIP 
submission that complies with the provisions of the CAA and applicable 
Federal regulations. 42 U.S.C. 7410(k); 40 CFR 52.02(a). Thus, in 
reviewing SIP submissions, EPA's role is to approve state choices, 
provided that they meet the criteria of the CAA. Accordingly, this 
action merely approves state law as meeting Federal requirements and 
does not impose additional requirements beyond those imposed by state 
law. For that reason, this action:
     Is not a significant regulatory action subject to review 
by the Office of Management and Budget under Executive Orders 12866 (58 
FR 51735, October 4, 1993), 13563 (76 FR 3821, January 21, 2011), and 
14094 (88 FR 21879, April 11, 2023);
     Does not impose an information collection burden under the 
provisions of the Paperwork Reduction Act (44 U.S.C. 3501 et seq.);
     Is certified as not having a significant economic impact 
on a substantial number of small entities under the Regulatory 
Flexibility Act (5 U.S.C. 601 et seq.);
     Does not contain any unfunded mandate or significantly or 
uniquely affect small governments, as described in the Unfunded 
Mandates Reform Act of 1995 (Pub. L. 104-4);
     Does not have Federalism implications as specified in 
Executive Order 13132 (64 FR 43255, August 10, 1999);
     Is not subject to Executive Order 13045 (62 FR 19885, 
April 23, 1997) because it approves a state program;
     Is not a significant regulatory action subject to 
Executive Order 13211 (66 FR 28355, May 22, 2001);
     Is not subject to requirements of Section 12(d) of the 
National Technology Transfer and Advancement Act of 1995 (15 U.S.C. 272 
note) because application of those requirements would be inconsistent 
with the CAA; and
     Does not provide EPA with the discretionary authority to 
address, as appropriate, disproportionate human health or environmental 
effects, using practicable and legally permissible methods, under 
Executive Order 12898 (59 FR 7629, February 16, 1994).

[[Page 47379]]

    In addition, the SIP is not approved to apply on any Indian 
reservation land or in any other area where EPA or an Indian tribe has 
demonstrated that a tribe has jurisdiction. In those areas of Indian 
country, the rule does not have tribal implications and will not impose 
substantial direct costs on tribal governments or preempt tribal law as 
specified by Executive Order 13175 (65 FR 67249, November 9, 2000).
    Executive Order 12898 (Federal Actions To Address Environmental 
Justice in Minority Populations and Low-Income Populations, 59 FR 7629, 
February 16, 1994) directs Federal agencies to identify and address 
``disproportionately high and adverse human health or environmental 
effects'' of their actions on minority populations and low-income 
populations to the greatest extent practicable and permitted by law. 
EPA defines environmental justice (EJ) as ``the fair treatment and 
meaningful involvement of all people regardless of race, color, 
national origin, or income with respect to the development, 
implementation, and enforcement of environmental laws, regulations, and 
policies.'' EPA further defines the term fair treatment to mean that 
``no group of people should bear a disproportionate burden of 
environmental harms and risks, including those resulting from the 
negative environmental consequences of industrial, governmental, and 
commercial operations or programs and policies.''
    EGLE did not evaluate environmental justice considerations as part 
of its SIP submittal; the CAA and applicable implementing regulations 
neither prohibit nor require such an evaluation. EPA did not perform an 
EJ analysis and did not consider EJ in this action. Due to the nature 
of the action being taken here, this action is expected to have a 
neutral to positive impact on the air quality of the affected area. 
Consideration of EJ is not required as part of this action, and there 
is no information in the record inconsistent with the stated goal of 
E.O. 12898 of achieving environmental justice for people of color, low-
income populations, and Indigenous peoples.
    This action is subject to the Congressional Review Act, and EPA 
will submit a rule report to each House of the Congress and to the 
Comptroller General of the United States. This action is not a ``major 
rule'' as defined by 5 U.S.C. 804(2).
    Under section 307(b)(1) of the CAA, petitions for judicial review 
of this action must be filed in the United States Court of Appeals for 
the appropriate circuit by September 22, 2023. Filing a petition for 
reconsideration by the Administrator of this final rule does not affect 
the finality of this action for the purposes of judicial review nor 
does it extend the time within which a petition for judicial review may 
be filed, and shall not postpone the effectiveness of such rule or 
action. Parties with objections to this direct final rule are 
encouraged to file a comment in response to the parallel notice of 
proposed rulemaking for this action published in the proposed rules 
section of this Federal Register, rather than file an immediate 
petition for judicial review of this direct final rule, so that EPA can 
withdraw this direct final rule and address the comment in the proposed 
rulemaking. This action may not be challenged later in proceedings to 
enforce its requirements. (See section 307(b)(2).)

List of Subjects in 40 CFR Part 52

    Environmental protection, Air pollution control, Incorporation by 
reference, Intergovernmental relations, Particulate matter, Reporting 
and recordkeeping requirements.

    Dated: July 13, 2023.
Debra Shore,
Regional Administrator, Region 5.

    For the reasons stated in the preamble, 40 CFR part 52 is amended 
as follows:

PART 52--APPROVAL AND PROMULGATION OF IMPLEMENTATION PLANS

0
1. The authority citation for part 52 continues to read as follows:

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

0
2. In Sec.  52.1170, the table in paragraph (d) is amended by revising 
the entry for ``Detroit Edison Company, River Rouge Power Plant, Wayne 
County'' to read as follows:

Sec.  52.1170  Identification of plan.

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    (d) * * *

                                EPA--Approved Michigan Source-Specific Provisions
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                                                         State
          Name of source               Order No.    effective date    EPA approval date           Comments
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                                                  * * * * * * *
Detroit Edison Company, River               9-1993      10/12/1994  7/24/2023, [INSERT     Includes revised
 Rouge Power Plant, Wayne County.                                    FEDERAL REGISTER       Fugitive Dust
                                                                     CITATION].             Control Plan.
 
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[FR Doc. 2023-15404 Filed 7-21-23; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 6560-50-P