Document ID: EPA-R05-OAR-2018-0369-0001
Agency: epa
Document Type: Proposed Rule
Title: Proposed approval of the Ohio BAT Exemption
Posted Date: 2018-11-14T05:00Z

[Federal Register Volume 83, Number 220 (Wednesday, November 14, 2018)]
[Proposed Rules]
[Pages 56775-56777]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2018-24815]

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ENVIRONMENTAL PROTECTION AGENCY

40 CFR Part 52

[EPA-R05-OAR-2018-0369 FRL-9986-29-Region 5]

Air Plan Approval; Ohio; Ohio Less Than 10 TPY BAT Exemption

AGENCY: Environmental Protection Agency (EPA).

ACTION: Proposed rule.

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SUMMARY: The Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) is proposing to 
approve, under the Clean Air Act (CAA), revisions to Ohio's State 
Implementation Plan (SIP) as requested by the Ohio Environmental 
Protection Agency (OEPA) on May 22, 2018. OEPA has submitted, for 
approval, revisions that exempt sources that emit less than 10 tons per 
year (tpy) from the need to employ Best Available Technology (BAT). EPA 
is proposing to approve these revisions because they are consistent 
with Federal regulations governing state permit programs.

DATES: Comments must be received on or before December 14, 2018.

ADDRESSES: Submit your comments, identified by Docket ID No. EPA-R05-
OAR-2018-0369 at http://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 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 http://www2.epa.gov/dockets/commenting-epa-dockets.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Richard Angelbeck, Environmental 
Scientist, Air Permits Section, Air Programs Branch (AR-18J), 
Environmental Protection Agency, Region 5, 77 West Jackson Boulevard, 
Chicago, Illinois 60604, (312) 886-9698, [email protected].

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: Throughout this document whenever ``we,'' 
``us,'' or ``our'' is used, we mean EPA. This supplementary information 
section is arranged as follows:

I. What revisions did OEPA submit?
II. Do the revisions comply with section 110(l) of the Clean Air 
Act?
III. What action is EPA taking?
IV. Incorporation by Reference
V. Statutory and Executive Order Reviews

I. What revisions did OEPA submit?

    On May 22, 2018, OEPA submitted a SIP revision to Ohio 
Administrative Code (OAC) rule 3745-31-05(A)(3)(a)(ii), which is its 
BAT rule. This revision exempts the smaller emitting sources, those 
that emit less than 10 tpy of each criteria pollutant, from the need to 
employ BAT. OEPA's less than 10 tpy BAT exemption is currently in 
OEPA's OAC 3745-31-05(A)(3)(a)(ii) and reads: ``BAT is not required if 
the air contaminant source was installed or modified on or after August 
3, 2006 and has the potential to emit (PTE), taking into account air 
pollution controls installed on the source, less than ten tons per year 
of emissions of an air contaminant or precursor of an air contaminant 
for which a national ambient air quality standard has been adopted 
under the Clean Air Act.''
    Ohio's Federally approved construction program, OAC 3745-31 
(``Permits to Install New Sources of Pollution'') provides the 
authority for OEPA to issue Permits to Install (PTI) to new sources of 
air pollution or modifications to existing sources of air pollution. 
For attainment areas, the program was conditionally approved into 
Ohio's SIP on October 10, 2001 (66 FR 51570), and fully approved on 
January 22, 2003 (68 FR 2909). For nonattainment areas, the program was 
fully approved on January 10, 2002 (68 FR 1366). On February 20, 2013, 
OEPA's SIP was revised (78 FR 28547) to combine the PTI and Permit to 
Operate (PTO) programs into a single Permit to Install and Operate 
(PTIO) program so that a minor source not subject to title V of the 
Clean Air Act in Ohio would be issued a single PTIO instead of a PTI 
and a PTO permit.
    On August 3, 2006, the Ohio General Assembly passed Senate Bill 265 
(SB 265) which required OEPA to modify several of its BAT rules. OEPA's 
BAT is an air permitting mechanism to help control emissions in minor 
air permits. BAT can be any combination of work practices, air 
pollution control devices, raw material specifications, throughput 
limitations, source design characteristics, and OEPA does an evaluation 
of the annualized cost per ton of air pollutant removed when 
determining BAT. One of the changes implemented was the less than 10 
tpy BAT exemption. To implement the SB 265 changes, OEPA adopted 
revisions under OAC Chapter 3745-31-05(A)(3)(b) on November 20, 2006, 
which became effective on December 1, 2006. On January 18, 2008, OEPA 
requested that EPA approve this rule language as a revision to Ohio's 
SIP. EPA responded with a June 5, 2008 letter to OEPA indicating that 
the request was incomplete due to a lack of a CAA section 110(l) 
demonstration, thus returning the request back to OEPA. On June 2, 
2008, OEPA moved the language in OAC rule 3745-31-05 from paragraph 
(A)(3)(b) to (A)(3)(a)(ii) which became effective at the state level on 
June 30, 2008. The rule language contained in OAC rule 3745-31-
05(A)(3)(a)(ii) was carried over in OAC rule 3745-31-05, which was 
adopted on April 20, 2016, and became effective at the state level as 
of May 1, 2016, and is what OEPA is now requesting for EPA approval as 
a revision to its SIP. EPA considered this May 22, 2018 submittal to be 
complete.

II. Do the revisions comply with section 110(l) of the Clean Air Act?

    OEPA's May 22, 2018 SIP revision submittal included a 110(l) 
demonstration. This demonstration included an extensive analysis to 
show the impact that the less than 10 tpy BAT exemption would have on 
emissions. This analysis evaluated over 400 permits, representing more 
than 80

[[Page 56776]]

source classification codes and 36 different types of categories of 
sources. Each criteria pollutant was evaluated and then a comparison 
was made between the emission limit that would occur if BAT applied and 
if BAT did not apply to the less than 10 tpy sources. The analysis 
concludes that there would be a negligible increase in emissions due to 
the less than 10 tpy BAT exemption.
    The 110(l) demonstration included a quantitative and qualitative 
analysis. The analysis estimated an emission increase of 36.89 tpy of 
volatile organic compounds (VOC) emissions in attainment areas and 
nonattainment areas, combined, when applying the less than 10 tpy BAT 
exemption compared to BAT-based emissions. That increase in VOC 
emissions represented a very small amount (0.12%) of the total actual 
point source VOC emissions reported for that year, 2010 in Ohio.
    The 110(l) analysis estimated the VOC emission increases in the 
Ohio nonattainment areas combined, as well as to each of the three Ohio 
ozone nonattainment areas (Cleveland, Cincinnati, Columbus). This 
analysis links the estimated VOC increases to each of the Ohio ozone 
nonattainment areas and demonstrates that each nonattainment area will 
not be negatively impacted by the estimated increase in emissions. The 
analysis showed an estimated increase of 25.53 tpy of VOC in Ohio 
nonattainment areas which represented 0.2% of the 2010 total VOC 
emissions in Ohio. OEPA's analysis also quantified the estimated VOC 
increases in the three Ohio nonattainment areas: 18.65 tpy in the 
Cincinnati area, 4.88 tpy in the Cleveland/Akron/Lorain area, and 0 tpy 
in the Columbus area. OEPA's analysis further broke out the 18.65 tpy 
Cincinnati nonattainment area VOC emission increase to the following 
two areas: 13 tpy increase in Hamilton County, and 5.6 tpy in Butler 
County.
    To address the VOC emission increases in the Cincinnati and 
Cleveland nonattainment areas, OEPA opted to use VOC emission offsets 
to mitigate any possibility of adverse air quality impact that may 
result from the small increase in VOC emissions. These relied-upon 
emission offsets are from permanently shut down emission units at one 
facility in Ashtabula (4.88 tpy offset VOCs) and one facility in 
Hamilton (18.65 tpy offset VOCs) counties located in the Cincinnati and 
Cleveland nonattainment areas, respectively. The 4.88 tpy offset VOCs 
in Ashtabula County are from the permanently shut down emission unit 
R010 at the RMC USA Inc. facility (Facility ID 0204000423), the 
emission unit was permanently shut down on 7/16/2014. The 18.65 tpy 
offset VOCs in Hamilton County are from the permanently shut down 
emission unit P001 at the Rock-Tenn Converting Co. facility (Facility 
ID 1431070952), the emission unit was permanently shut down on 11/21/
2014. This 18.65 tpy offset VOCs is to offset the possible VOC 
increases in Hamilton and Butler Counties, combined. The VOC emission 
reductions have been verified and validated through OEPA's Stars II 
system and are considered creditable since they are surplus, 
quantifiable, permanent and federally enforceable. OEPA maintains a 
database of all emission reductions used for purpose of CAA 110(l) 
demonstrations and these VOC reductions will be tracked within this 
database to ensure they cannot be used again. OEPA has committed to 
permanently retire the 25.33 tpy of VOC emissions upon EPA's approval 
of this SIP revision and EPA's proposed approval of this SIP revision 
is based on that commitment. The VOC emission reductions from the 
permanent emission unit shut downs will offset the predicted VOC 
emissions increase in these VOC nonattainment areas resulting from the 
less than 10 tpy BAT exemption and ensure that plans to bring the VOC 
nonattainment with the NAAQS are not compromised and thus it is 
expected there will be no adverse impact on air quality.
    OEPA's 110(l) analysis demonstrated that the air quality will not 
be negatively impacted due to the small increase in emissions as result 
of the less than 10 tpy BAT exemption. OEPA's 110(l) analysis 
demonstrated that the VOC emission offsets from the shutdown emission 
units at the two facilities will counterbalance the estimated emission 
increase in VOC emissions due to the less than 10 tpy BAT exemption and 
will not have a negative impact on air quality nor cause backsliding 
from Ohio's reasonable further progress plans. OEPA will formally 
retire the VOC emission offsets in order to receive final approval of 
this SIP revision. OEPA's 110(l) analysis also demonstrated that the 
small increase in VOC emissions in Ohio's ozone attainment areas will 
not have a negative impact on air quality because the increase in VOC 
emissions is very small compared to the VOC emissions emitted state-
wide.

III. What action is EPA taking?

    EPA is proposing approval, into the SIP, of the rule revision to 
OAC 3745-31-05(A)(3)(a)(ii) that OEPA submitted on May 22, 2018. The 
SIP revision submitted, described in section I, above, is consistent 
with Federal regulations governing state permitting programs. See 
section II above. EPA is also soliciting comment on this proposed 
approval.

IV. Incorporation by Reference

    In this rule, EPA is proposing to include in a final EPA rule 
regulatory text that includes incorporation by reference. In accordance 
with requirements of 1 CFR 51.5, EPA is proposing to incorporate by 
reference revisions to Ohio Administrative Code 3745-31-
05(A)(3)(a)(ii), effective on May 1, 2016. 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).

V. 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) and 13563 (76 FR 3821, January 21, 2011);
     Is not an Executive Order 13771 (82 FR 9339, February 2, 
2017) regulatory action because SIP approvals are exempted under 
Executive Order 12866;
     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);

[[Page 56777]]

     Is not an economically significant regulatory action based 
on health or safety risks subject to Executive Order 13045 (62 FR 
19885, April 23, 1997);
     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).
    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).

List of Subjects in 40 CFR Part 52

    Environmental protection, Air pollution control, Carbon monoxide, 
Incorporation by reference, Intergovernmental relations, Lead, Nitrogen 
dioxide, Ozone, Particulate matter, Reporting and recordkeeping 
requirements, Sulfur oxides, Volatile organic compounds.

    Dated: October 30, 2018.
Cathy Stepp,
Regional Administrator, Region 5.
[FR Doc. 2018-24815 Filed 11-13-18; 8:45 am]
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