Document ID: EPA-R05-OAR-2022-0477-0001
Agency: epa
Document Type: Proposed Rule
Title: Proposed Approval of Ohio SO2 Emissions Regulations
Posted Date: 2023-01-26T05:00Z

[Federal Register Volume 88, Number 17 (Thursday, January 26, 2023)]
[Proposed Rules]
[Pages 4935-4936]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2023-01502]

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ENVIRONMENTAL PROTECTION AGENCY

40 CFR Part 52

[EPA-R05-OAR-2022-0477; FRL-10516-01-R5]

Air Plan Approval; Ohio; Sulfur Dioxide Regulations

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), revised sulfur dioxide 
(SO2) regulations submitted by Ohio on May 23, 2022. Ohio 
updated its regulations to correct facility information which has 
changed, remove requirements for shutdown facilities and units, update 
references, consolidate county-wide requirements, address style 
changes, and revise requirements for the Veolia Fort Hill plant in 
Miami, Ohio and DTE St. Bernard facility in Cincinnati, Ohio. EPA 
believes that the revisions improve the clarity of the rules without 
affecting the stringency and therefore is proposing to approve the 
submitted revisions with exception of selected paragraphs in Ohio 
Administrative Code (OAC) Chapter 3745-18.

DATES: Comments must be received on or before February 27, 2023.

ADDRESSES: Submit your comments, identified by Docket ID No. EPA-R05-
OAR-2022-0477 at https://www.regulations.gov, or via email to 
[email protected]@epa.gov. 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 https://www2.epa.gov/dockets/commenting-epa-dockets.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Tyler Salamasick, Life Scientist, 
Control Strategies Section, Air Programs Branch (AR-18J), Environmental 
Protection Agency, Region 5, 77 West Jackson Boulevard, Chicago, 
Illinois 60604, (312) 886-6206, [email protected].

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

I. Background

    Ohio law requires a five-year review of all regulations in which 
the state cleans up and clarifies existing rules. Ohio conducted a 
review of OAC Chapter 3745-18 ``Sulfur Dioxide Regulations'' that 
contains Ohio's air emission regulations for SO2 and 
includes both generally applicable rules and county specific rules. The 
state revised the rules to correct facility information which has 
changed, remove requirements for shutdown facilities and units, update 
references, consolidate county-wide requirements, address style 
changes, remove facility-specific requirements for the DTE St. Bernard 
facility in Cincinnati, Ohio, and revise requirements for the Veolia 
Fort Hill plant in Miami, Ohio. On May 23, 2022, Ohio submitted the 
revised rule to EPA as a revision to Ohio's state implementation plan 
(SIP). Ohio held a public hearing on the revised rule on December 16, 
2021. Ohio provided a summary of the comments received and its 
responses to the comments.

II. EPA Review

    EPA has reviewed Ohio's submitted revised SO2 rules as 
discussed below.
    Ohio revised OAC 3745-18-01 ``Definitions and incorporation by 
reference'' to update the Code of Federal Regulations publication 
dates. Throughout the rule, Ohio updated facility information, such as 
names and addresses, and revised rule language to reflect changes in 
style. These updates are merely administrative and do not change the 
requirements of the rule.
    Ohio promulgated a new chapter, OAC 3745-18-02, ``General 
countywide emission limits.'' This rule does not create new 
requirements, but rather consolidates the countywide emission limits 
previously contained in county specific rules. Correspondingly, Ohio 
rescinded the county specific rules that had been incorporated into the 
general countywide emission limits and contained no facility specific 
information. These revisions do not change the applicable requirements 
of the rules.
    Ohio removed facility information for the facilities and emissions 
units that were permanently shut down. The removal of obsolete emission 
limits for units that have permanently closed and for which the permits 
to operate have been revoked does not indicate permission to increase 
emissions. If the facilities were to restart operations, Ohio would 
require a new permit-to-install, which would establish new emissions 
limits based on the current SO2 standard.
    Ohio removed the facility-specific requirements in OAC 3745-18-
37(GG) for the DTE St. Bernard facility. These requirements were 
originally promulgated to regulate sulfur emissions from coal fired 
boilers in use at the facility. DTE St. Bernard removed the remaining 
coal fired boiler and replaced it with a natural gas boiler. DTE St. 
Bernard's state permit now requires the facility to only use natural

[[Page 4936]]

gas in the emissions unit. Because OAC 3745-18-06(A) exempts units from 
SO2 control requirements when natural gas is the only fuel 
burned, and DTE St. Bernard's permit prohibits the facility from 
burning coal, the removal of the facility-specific SO2 
requirements in OAC 3745-18-37(GG) for DTE St. Bernard does not relax 
the requirements applicable to the facility.
    Ohio also updated OAC 3745-18-37(KK) for the Veolia Fort Hill 
facility to comply with best available control technology (BACT) and 
set a lower short-term emission limit and mass cap, as required by an 
EPA consent decree. Ohio performed air dispersion modeling which 
demonstrated lower SO2 concentrations for both the 3-hour 
and 24-hour averaging periods, as compared to the pre-consent decree 
SIP requirements in OAC 3145-18-37(KK). Also, Ohio determined, when 
making area designation recommendations for Round 3 of the 2010 1-hour 
SO2 national ambient air quality standards (NAAQS), the 
Veolia Fort Hill facility did not have a significant impact. EPA agreed 
with Ohio's determination and approved Ohio's Round 3 designations 
(without this facility) on January 9, 2018 (83 FR 1098).
    CAA section 110(l) states that SIP revisions cannot be approved if 
they interfere with applicable requirements concerning attainment of an 
air quality standard or making reasonable further progress. Ohio's 
revisions to OAC 3745-18 do not allow for an increase in emissions and 
are expected to be protective of the NAAQS. Therefore, this proposed 
revision to the SIP is consistent with the requirements of CAA section 
110(l).

III. What action is EPA taking?

    EPA is proposing to approve the revisions to OAC 3745-18 
SO2 rules submitted by Ohio into Ohio's SIP on May 23, 2022, 
with the exception of selected paragraphs in OAC 3745-18-04.
    EPA is proposing not to act on OAC 37-18-04(D)(2), (D)(3), (D)(6), 
(E)(2), (E)(3), and (E)(4). These paragraphs have not been previously 
approved by EPA and are outside the intent of this proposed SIP 
revision--to improve the clarity of the rules.

IV. Incorporation by Reference

    In this action, EPA is proposing to include 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 Ohio rules OAC 3745-18-01 through OAC 3745-18-06 [with the 
exception of OAC 3745-18-04(D)(2), (D)(3), (D)(6), (E)(2), (E)(3), and 
(E)(4)], OAC 3745-18-08, OAC 3745-18-10, OAC 3745-18-11, OAC 3745-18-
15, OAC 3745-18-23, OAC 3745-18-24, OAC 3745-18-26, OAC 3745-18-28, OAC 
3745-18-31, OAC 3745-18-33, OAC 3745-18-35, OAC 3745-18-37, OAC 3745-
18-47, OAC 3745-18-49, OAC 3745-18-53, OAC 3745-18-54, OAC 3745-18-56, 
OAC 3745-18-61, OAC 3745-18-63, OAC 3745-18-68, OAC 3745-18-69, OAC 
3745-18-77, OAC 3745-18-78, OAC 3745-18-80, OAC 3745-18-82 through OAC 
3745-18-85, OAC 3745-18-91, and OAC 3745-18-92, as effective on 
February 2, 2022, discussed in section II of this preamble. 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).
    Also in this document, EPA is proposing to remove EPA-Approved Ohio 
rules OAC 3745-18-07, OAC 3745-18-09, OAC 3745-18-12 through OAC 3745-
18-14, OAC 3745-18-16 through OAC 3745-18-22, OAC 3745-18-25, OAC 3745-
18-27, OAC 3745-18-29, OAC 3745-18-30, OAC 3745-18-32, OAC 3745-18-34, 
OAC 3745-18-36, OAC 3745-18-38 through OAC 3745-18-46, OAC 3745-18-48, 
OAC 3745-18-50 through OAC 3745-18-52, OAC 3745-18-55, OAC 3745-18-57 
through OAC 3745-18-60, OAC 3745-18-62, OAC 3745-18-64, OAC 3745-18-65, 
OAC 3745-18-67, OAC 3745-18-70 through OAC 3745-18-76, OAC 3745-18-79, 
OAC 3745-18-81, OAC 3745-18-86 through OAC 3745-18-89, OAC 3745-18-93, 
and OAC 3745-18-94 from the Ohio SIP, which is incorporated by 
reference in accordance with the requirements of 1 CFR part 51.

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);
     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 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, Incorporation by 
reference, Intergovernmental relations, Sulfur oxides.

    Dated: January 19, 2023.
Debra Shore,
Regional Administrator, Region 5.
[FR Doc. 2023-01502 Filed 1-25-23; 8:45 am]
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