Document ID: EPA-R05-OAR-2021-0256-0014
Agency: epa
Document Type: Rule
Title: Final Approval of the Rhinelander, Wisconsin SO2 Supplemental Attainment Plan
Posted Date: 2021-10-22T04:00Z

[Federal Register Volume 86, Number 202 (Friday, October 22, 2021)]
[Rules and Regulations]
[Pages 58577-58579]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2021-22601]

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ENVIRONMENTAL PROTECTION AGENCY

40 CFR Part 52

[EPA-R05-OAR-2021-0256; FRL-8692-02-R5]

Air Plan Approval; Wisconsin; Attainment Plan for the Rhinelander 
SO2 Nonattainment Area

AGENCY: Environmental Protection Agency (EPA).

ACTION: Final rule.

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SUMMARY: The Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) is approving the 
State Implementation Plan (SIP) revision submitted by Wisconsin on 
March 29, 2021, which amends a SIP submission previously submitted to 
EPA on January 22, 2016, and supplemented on July 18, 2016 and November 
29, 2016, for attaining the 1-hour sulfur dioxide (SO2) 
primary national ambient air quality standard (NAAQS) for the 
Rhinelander SO2 nonattainment area. This plan (herein 
referred to as Wisconsin's Rhinelander SO2 plan or plan) 
includes Wisconsin's attainment demonstration and other elements 
required under the Clean Air Act (CAA). In addition to an attainment 
demonstration, the plan addresses the requirement for meeting 
reasonable further progress (RFP) toward attainment of the NAAQS, 
reasonably available control measures and reasonably available control 
technology (RACM/RACT), and contingency measures. This action 
supplements a prior action which found that Wisconsin had satisfied 
emission inventory and new source review (NSR) requirements for this 
area, but had not met requirements for the elements approved here. In 
this action, EPA concludes that Wisconsin has appropriately 
demonstrated that the plan provisions provide for attainment of the 
2010 1-hour primary SO2 NAAQS in the Rhinelander 
SO2 nonattainment area and that the plan meets the other 
applicable requirements under the CAA. EPA proposed to approve this 
action on July 22, 2021, and received no adverse comments.

DATES: This final rule is effective on December 31, 2021.

ADDRESSES: EPA has established a docket for this action under Docket ID 
No. EPA-R05-OAR-2021-0256. All documents in the docket are listed on 
the www.regulations.gov website. Although listed in the index, some 
information is not publicly available, i.e., Confidential Business 
Information (CBI) or other information whose disclosure is restricted 
by statute. Certain other material, such as copyrighted material, is 
not placed on the internet and will be publicly available only in hard 
copy form. Publicly available docket materials are available either 
through www.regulations.gov or at the Environmental Protection Agency, 
Region 5, Air and Radiation Division, 77 West Jackson Boulevard, 
Chicago, Illinois 60604. This facility 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. We recommend that you telephone Abigail 
Teener, Environmental Engineer, at (312) 353-7314 before visiting the 
Region 5 office.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Abigail Teener, Environmental 
Engineer, Attainment Planning and Maintenance Section, Air Programs 
Branch (AR-18J), Environmental Protection Agency, Region 5, 77 West 
Jackson Boulevard, Chicago, Illinois 60604, (312) 353-7314, 
[email protected].

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

I. Background Information

    Following the promulgation in 2010 of a 1-hour primary 
SO2 NAAQS, on August 5, 2013, EPA designated the Rhinelander 
area within the State of Wisconsin as nonattainment for this NAAQS, in 
conjunction with designating multiple areas in other states as 
nonattainment (78 FR 47191). Wisconsin submitted a nonattainment plan 
for the Rhinelander area on January 22, 2016, and supplemented it on 
July 18, 2016, and November 29, 2016. On March 23, 2021, EPA partially 
approved and partially disapproved Wisconsin's Rhinelander 
SO2 plan as submitted and supplemented in 2016 (86 FR 
15418). EPA approved the base-year emissions inventory and affirmed 
that the new source review requirements for the area had previously 
been met (79 FR 60064, October 6, 2014). EPA also approved the 
SO2 emission limit for Ahlstrom-Munksj[ouml]'s Rhinelander 
facility (Ahlstrom-Munksj[ouml]) (formerly Expera Specialty Solutions 
LLC (Expera)) as SIP-strengthening. At that time, EPA disapproved the 
attainment demonstration for failing to comply with EPA's stack height 
regulations. Additionally, EPA disapproved the plan for failing to meet 
the requirements for RFP toward attainment of the NAAQS, RACM/RACT, 
emission limitations and control measures, as necessary to attain the 
NAAQS, and contingency measures. On March 29, 2021, Wisconsin

[[Page 58578]]

submitted a permit containing a more stringent emission limit for 
Ahlstrom-Munksj[ouml] (2.38 pounds per million British Thermal Unit 
(lbs/MMBTU) on a 24-hour average basis) than the previous limit (3.0 
lbs/MMBTU on a 24-hour average basis), supplemental information in 
order to remedy the plan's deficiencies specified in EPA's March 23, 
2021 rulemaking, and a request that EPA approve its revised plan for 
the Rhinelander area.
    EPA published a notice of proposed rulemaking addressing 
Wisconsin's revised plan for the Rhinelander SO2 
nonattainment area on July 22, 2021 (86 FR 38643). EPA proposed to 
approve the sections of the tile I construction permit (Air Pollution 
Control Construction Permit Revision 15-DMM-128-R1) that contain the 
revised SO2 limit for Ahlstrom-Munksj[ouml] and the 
associated requirements. Additionally, EPA proposed to replace the 
previously approved consent and administrative orders (AM-94-38 and AM-
15-01) governing the Ahlstrom-Munksj[ouml] emission limits with these 
elements of Permit 15-DMM-128-R1. EPA proposed to conclude that 
Wisconsin has demonstrated that these requirements provide for the 
Rhinelander area to attain the SO2 NAAQS. Finally, EPA 
proposed to conclude that Wisconsin has satisfied the other applicable 
requirements for nonattainment areas, including requirements for RACM/
RACT, RFP, and contingency measures. The proposal supplemented a 
previous action in which EPA concluded that Wisconsin had met the 
requirement for a suitable emissions inventory.

II. Public Comments

    The public comment period for this proposed rule ended on August 
23, 2021. During the comment period, EPA received one supportive 
comment on the proposal. The comment is included in the docket for this 
action.

III. Final Action

    EPA is approving Wisconsin's SIP submission, which the State 
submitted to EPA on March 29, 2021, to supplement the prior SIP it had 
submitted on January 22, 2016, and supplemented on July 18, 2016, and 
November 29, 2016, for attaining the 2010 1-hour SO2 NAAQS 
for the Rhinelander area and for meeting other nonattainment area 
planning requirements. This SO2 attainment plan includes 
Wisconsin's attainment demonstration for the Rhinelander area. The plan 
also addresses requirements for RFP, RACT/RACM, and contingency 
measures. EPA has previously concluded that Wisconsin has addressed the 
requirements for emissions inventories for the Rhinelander area and 
nonattainment area NSR. EPA has determined that Wisconsin's Rhinelander 
SO2 plan meets applicable requirements of section 172 of the 
CAA.
    Wisconsin's Rhinelander SO2 plan is based on the 
emissions limits specified in Air Pollution Control Construction Permit 
Revision 15-DMM-128-R1. Wisconsin seeks EPA to approve several elements 
of the permit, including the permit cover sheet, emissions limitations 
for Ahlstrom-Munksj[ouml] (Conditions A.3.a.(1)-(3)), the compliance 
demonstration (Conditions A.3.b.(1)-(3)), reference test methods, 
recordkeeping and monitoring requirements (Conditions A.3.c.(1)-(5) and 
A.3.c.(7)-(9)), and the effective date (Condition YYY.1.a.(1)). 
Wisconsin did not seek approval of limits and test methods associated 
with oil sulfur content. Wisconsin stated that limits on the portion of 
emissions from oil are unnecessary to comply with the 24-hour 
SO2 emission limit and the boiler heat input limit, and 
attainment is ensured by limits on total emissions from boiler B26. EPA 
concurs with Wisconsin's rationale, and therefore EPA is approving 
these elements of the permit.
    Additionally, EPA is replacing the previously approved consent and 
administrative orders (AM-94-38 and AM-15-01) governing the Ahlstrom-
Munksj[ouml] emission limits \1\ with the elements of Wisconsin's Air 
Pollution Control Construction Permit Revision 15-DMM-128-R1 specified 
above. This replacement will not be effective until December 31, 2021, 
which is the revised permit compliance date for Ahlstrom-Munksj[ouml]. 
Section 110(l) of the CAA states that EPA ``shall not approve a 
revision of a plan if the revision would interfere with any applicable 
requirement. . . .'' Since Permit 15-DMM-128-R1 contains a more 
stringent SO2 limit for Ahlstrom-Munksj[ouml] (2.38 lbs/
MMBTU on a 24-hour average basis) than the previous orders (3.0 lbs/
MMBTU on a 24-hour average basis), and since Wisconsin has demonstrated 
that the limit in Permit 15-DMM-128-R1 provides for attainment without 
need for the limits in the prior orders, EPA concludes that Section 
110(l) does not prohibit EPA from replacing the prior orders with the 
newer permit, and EPA is acting in accordance with this Wisconsin 
request.
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    \1\ Orders AM-94-38 and AM-15-01 were issued to the facility's 
prior owner, Expera, but the orders continued to limit the 
facility's emissions after it was acquired by Ahlstrom-Munksj[ouml].
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    This approval terminates the sanctions clock started under CAA 
section 179 resulting from EPA's partial disapproval of the prior SIP, 
as well as EPA's duty to promulgate a FIP for the area under CAA 
section 110(c) that resulted from the previous partial disapproval.

IV. 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 Wisconsin 
Regulations described in the amendments to 40 CFR part 52 set forth 
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).
    Also in this document, as described in the amendments to 40 CFR 
part 52 set forth below, EPA is removing provisions of the EPA-Approved 
Wisconsin Regulations and Statutes from the Wisconsin State 
Implementation Plan, 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.);

[[Page 58579]]

     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).
    The Congressional Review Act, 5 U.S.C. 801 et seq., as added by the 
Small Business Regulatory Enforcement Fairness Act of 1996, generally 
provides that before a rule may take effect, the agency promulgating 
the rule must submit a rule report, which includes a copy of the rule, 
to each House of the Congress and to the Comptroller General of the 
United States. EPA will submit a report containing this action and 
other required information to the U.S. Senate, the U.S. House of 
Representatives, and the Comptroller General of the United States prior 
to publication of the rule in the Federal Register. A major rule cannot 
take effect until 60 days after it is published in the Federal 
Register. 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 December 21, 2021. 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. 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, Reporting and recordkeeping 
requirements, Sulfur oxides.

    Dated: October 8, 2021.
Cheryl Newton,
Acting Regional Administrator, Region 5.

    For the reasons stated in the preamble, EPA amends 40 CFR part 52 
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. Section 52.2570 is amended by removing and reserving paragraphs 
(c)(79)(i)(A) and (c)(142) and adding paragraph (c)(144) to read as 
follows:

Sec.  52.2570  Identification of plan.

* * * * *
    (c) * * *
    (144) On March 29, 2021, the Wisconsin Department of Natural 
Resources submitted a request to revise the Wisconsin State 
Implementation Plan for attaining the 2010 primary, health-based 1-hour 
SO2 national ambient air quality standard for the 
Rhinelander SO2 nonattainment area. This submittal 
supplements the 2016 plan for the Rhinelander area and includes an 
attainment demonstration and a title I construction permit for 
Ahlstrom-Munksj[ouml]'s Rhinelander facility. The revised plan also 
addresses the requirement for meeting reasonable further progress 
toward attainment of the national ambient air quality standard, 
reasonably available control measures and reasonably available control 
technology, and contingency measures.
    (i) Incorporation by reference. Elements of Air Pollution Control 
Construction Permit Revision 15-DMM-128-R1, issued by the Wisconsin 
Department of Natural Resources on March 25, 2021 to Ahlstrom-
Munksj[ouml] Rhinelander LLC, including the permit cover sheet, 
SO2 emissions limitations for Ahlstrom-Munksj[ouml] 
(Conditions A.3.a.(1)-(3)), a compliance demonstration (Conditions 
A.3.b.(1)-(3)), reference test methods, recordkeeping and monitoring 
requirements (Conditions A.3.c.(1)-(5) and A.3.c.(7)-(9)), and the 
effective date (Condition YYY.1.a.(1)).
    (ii) [Reserved]

Sec.  52.2572  [Amended]

0
3. Section 52.2572 is amended by removing and reserving paragraph (c).

0
4. Section 52.2575 is amended by adding paragraph (a)(2) to read as 
follows:

Sec.  52.2575  Control strategy: Sulfur dioxide.

    (a) * * *
    (2) Attainment demonstration--submitted on January 22, 2016, 
supplemented on July 18, 2016, and November 29, 2016, and revised on 
March 29, 2021 for the Rhinelander SO2 nonattainment area.
* * * * *
[FR Doc. 2021-22601 Filed 10-21-21; 8:45 am]
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