Document ID: EPA_FRDOC_0001-17436
Agency: epa
Document Type: Proposed Rule
Title: Cross-State Air Pollution Allowances: New Unit Set-Asides for the 2015 Compliance Year Data Allocations
Posted Date: 2015-06-01T04:00Z

[Federal Register Volume 80, Number 104 (Monday, June 1, 2015)]
[Proposed Rules]
[Pages 30988-30990]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2015-13031]

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ENVIRONMENTAL PROTECTION AGENCY

40 CFR Part 97

[FRL-9928-49-OAR]

Availability of Data on Allocations of Cross-State Air Pollution 
Rule Allowances From New Unit Set-Asides for the 2015 Compliance Year

AGENCY: Environmental Protection Agency (EPA).

ACTION: Notice of data availability (NODA).

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SUMMARY: The Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) is providing notice 
of the availability of preliminary calculations of emission allowance 
allocations to certain units under the Cross-State Air Pollution Rule 
(CSAPR). Under the CSAPR federal implementation plans (FIPs), portions 
of each covered state's annual emissions budgets for each of the four 
CSAPR emissions trading programs are reserved for allocation to 
electricity generating units that commenced commercial operation on or 
after January 1, 2010 (new units) and certain other units not otherwise 
obtaining allowance allocations under the FIPs. The quantities of 
allowances allocated to eligible units from each new unit set-aside 
(NUSA) under the FIPs are calculated in an annual one- or two-round 
allocation process. EPA has completed preliminary calculations for the 
first round of NUSA allowance allocations for the 2015 compliance year 
and has posted spreadsheets containing the calculations on EPA's Web 
site. EPA will consider timely objections to the preliminary 
calculations (including objections concerning the identification of 
units eligible for allocations) and will promulgate a notice responding 
to any such objections no later than August 1, 2015, the deadline for 
recording the first-round allocations in sources' Allowance Management 
System accounts. This notice may concern CSAPR-affected units in the 
following states: Alabama, Arkansas, Florida, Georgia, Illinois, 
Indiana, Iowa, Kansas, Kentucky, Louisiana, Maryland, Michigan, 
Minnesota, Mississippi, Missouri, Nebraska, New Jersey, New

[[Page 30989]]

York, North Carolina, Ohio, Oklahoma, Pennsylvania, South Carolina, 
Tennessee, Texas, Virginia, West Virginia, and Wisconsin.

DATES: Objections to the information referenced in this notice must be 
received on or before July 1, 2015.

ADDRESSES: Submit your objections via email to CSAPR_NUSA@epa.gov. 
Include ``2015 NUSA allocations'' in the email subject line and include 
your name, title, affiliation, address, phone number, and email address 
in the body of the email.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Questions concerning this action 
should be addressed to Robert Miller at (202) 343-9077 or 
miller.robertl@epa.gov or Kenon Smith at (202) 343-9164 or 
smith.kenon@epa.gov.

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: Under the CSAPR FIPs, the mechanisms by 
which initial allocations of emission allowances are determined differ 
for ``existing'' and ``new'' units. For ``existing'' units--that is, 
units commencing commercial operation before January 1, 2010--the 
specific amounts of CSAPR FIP allowance allocations for all compliance 
years have been established through rulemaking. EPA has announced the 
availability of spreadsheets showing the CSAPR FIP allowance 
allocations to existing units in previous notices.\1\
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    \1\ The latest spreadsheet of CSAPR FIP allowance allocations to 
existing units, updated in 2014 to reflect changes to CSAPR's 
implementation schedule but with allocation amounts unchanged since 
June 2012, is available at http://www.epa.gov/crossstaterule/actions.html. See Availability of Data on Allocations of Cross-State 
Air Pollution Rule Allowances to Existing Electricity Generating 
Units, 79 FR 71674 (December 3, 2014).
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    ``New'' units--that is, units commencing commercial operation on or 
after January 1, 2010--as well as certain older units that would not 
otherwise obtain FIP allowance allocations do not have pre-established 
allowance allocations. Instead, the CSAPR FIPs reserve a portion of 
each state's total annual emissions budget for each CSAPR emissions 
trading program as a new unit set-aside (NUSA) \2\ and establish an 
annual process for allocating NUSA allowances to eligible units. States 
with Indian country within their borders have separate Indian country 
NUSAs. The annual process for allocating allowances from the NUSAs and 
Indian country NUSAs to eligible units is set forth in the CSAPR 
regulations at 40 CFR 97.411(b) and 97.412 (NOX Annual 
Trading Program), 97.511(b) and 97.512 (NOX Ozone Season 
Trading Program), 97.611(b) and 97.612 (SO2 Group 1 Trading 
Program), and 97.711(b) and 97.712 (SO2 Group 2 Trading 
Program). Each NUSA allowance allocation process involves up to two 
rounds of allocations to new units followed by the allocation to 
existing units of any allowances not allocated to new units. EPA 
provides public notice at certain points in the process. This notice 
concerns preliminary calculations for the first round of NUSA allowance 
allocations for the 2015 compliance year.\3\
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    \2\ The NUSA amounts range from two percent to eight percent of 
the respective state budgets. The variation in percentages reflects 
differences among states in the quantities of emission allowances 
projected to be required by known new units at the time the budgets 
were set or amended.
    \3\ At this time, EPA is not aware of any unit eligible for a 
first-round allocation from any Indian country NUSA.
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    The units eligible to receive first-round NUSA allocations are 
defined in Sec. Sec.  97.412(a)(1), 97.512(a)(1), 97.612(a)(1), and 
97.712(a)(1). Generally, eligible units include any CSAPR-affected unit 
that has not been allocated allowances as an existing unit as well as 
certain units that have been allocated allowances as existing units but 
whose allocations have been deducted or not recorded because of 
corrections or multi-year breaks in operations. EPA notes that a valid 
allowance allocation may consist of zero allowances; thus, an existing 
unit specifically allocated zero allowances in the spreadsheet of CSAPR 
FIP allowance allocations to existing units is generally ineligible to 
receive a NUSA allowance allocation.
    The quantity of allowances to be allocated through the 2015 NUSA 
allowance allocation process for each state and emissions trading 
program is generally the state's 2015 emissions budget less the sum of 
(1) the total of the 2015 CSAPR FIP allowance allocations to existing 
units and (2) the amount of the 2015 Indian country NUSA, if any.\4\ 
The amounts of NUSA allowances may be increased in certain 
circumstances as set forth in Sec. Sec.  97.412(a)(2), 97.512(a)(2), 
97.612(a)(2), and 97.712(a)(2).
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    \4\ The quantities of allowances to be allocated through the 
NUSA allowance allocation process may differ slightly from the NUSA 
amounts set forth in Sec. Sec.  97.410(a), 97.510(a), 97.610(a), and 
97.710(a) because of rounding in the spreadsheet of CSAPR FIP 
allowance allocations to existing units.
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    The amounts of first-round allocations to eligible units from each 
NUSA are calculated according to the procedures set forth in Sec. Sec.  
97.412(a)(3)-(7) and (12), 97.512(a)(3)-(7) and (12), 97.612(a)(3)-(7) 
and (12), and 97.712(a)(3)-(7) and (12). Generally, the procedures call 
for each eligible unit to receive a first-round 2015 NUSA allocation 
equal to its 2014 emissions as reported under 40 CFR part 75 unless the 
total of such allocations to all eligible units would exceed the amount 
of allowances in the NUSA, in which case the allocations are reduced on 
a pro-rata basis.\5\
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    \5\ Subsequent allocations of any allowances remaining in any 
2015 NUSA after first-round allocations will be addressed in future 
notices. Any such allocations will be made according to the 
procedures set forth in Sec. Sec.  97.412(a)(9)-(10) and (12), 
97.512(a)(9)-(10) and (12), 97.612(a)(9)-(10) and (12), and 
97.712(a)(9)-(10) and (12). Generally, new units that commenced 
commercial operations in 2014 or 2015 will receive second-round 2015 
NUSA allocations sufficient to bring the totals of their first- and 
second-round allocations up to their 2015 emissions as reported 
under 40 CFR part 75 unless the total of such second-round 
allocations for all eligible units would exceed the remaining amount 
of allowances in the NUSA, in which case the second-round 
allocations will be reduced on a pro-rata basis. Any allowances 
remaining in any NUSA after second-round allocations to new units--
along with any allowances remaining in any corresponding Indian 
country NUSA--will be allocated to the state's existing units in 
proportion to their respective 2015 CSAPR FIP allocations of non-
NUSA allowances.
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    EPA notes that an allocation or lack of allocation of allowances to 
a given EGU does not constitute a determination that CSAPR does or does 
not apply to the EGU. EPA also notes that allocations are subject to 
potential correction.
    The detailed unit-by-unit data and preliminary allowance allocation 
calculations are set forth in Excel spreadsheets titled 
``CSAPR_NUSA_2015_NOX_Annual_1st_Round_Prelim_Data'', 
``CSAPR_NUSA_2015_NOX_OS_1st_Round_Prelim_Data'', and 
``CSAPR_NUSA_2015_SO2_1st_Round_Prelim_Data,'' available on 
EPA's Web site at http://www.epa.gov/crossstaterule/actions.html. The 
three spreadsheets show EPA's initial determinations of 2015 NUSA 
allocations for new units subject to the CSAPR NOX Annual, 
NOX Ozone Season, and SO2 (Group 1 and Group 2) 
trading programs, respectively. Each of the spreadsheets contains a 
separate worksheet for each state covered by that program showing, for 
each unit identified as eligible for a first-round NUSA allocation, (1) 
the unit's emissions in the 2014 control period (annual or ozone season 
as applicable), (2) the maximum first-round 2015 NUSA allowance 
allocation for which the unit is eligible (typically the unit's 
emissions in the 2014 control period), (3) various adjustments to the 
unit's maximum allocation, many of which are necessary only if the NUSA 
pool is oversubscribed, and (4) the preliminary calculation of the 
unit's first-round 2015 NUSA allowance allocation.
    Each state worksheet also contains a summary showing (1) the 
quantity of allowances initially available in that state's 2015 NUSA, 
(2) the sum of the

[[Page 30990]]

first-round 2015 NUSA allowance allocations that will be made to new 
units in that state, assuming there are no corrections to the data, and 
(3) the quantity of allowances that would remain in the 2015 NUSA for 
use in second-round allocations to new units (or ultimately for 
allocation to existing units), again assuming there are no corrections 
to the data.
    Objections should be strictly limited to the data and calculations 
upon which the NUSA allowance allocations are based and should be 
emailed to the address identified in ADDRESSES. Objections must 
include: (1) Precise identification of the specific data and/or 
calculations the commenter believes are inaccurate, (2) new proposed 
data and/or calculations upon which the commenter believes EPA should 
rely instead to determine allowance allocations, and (3) the reasons 
why EPA should rely on the commenter's proposed data and/or 
calculations and not the data referenced in this notice.

    Authority: 40 CFR 97.411(b), 97.511(b), 97.611(b), and 
97.711(b).

    Dated: May 22, 2015.
Reid P. Harvey,
Director, Clean Air Markets Division.
[FR Doc. 2015-13031 Filed 5-29-15; 8:45 am]
 BILLING CODE 6560-50-P