Document ID: EPA_FRDOC_0001-28163
Agency: epa
Document Type: Notice
Title: Clean Air Act Operating Permit Program: Petitions for Objection to State Operating Permit for ExxonMobil Corp., Baytown Chemical Plant, Harris County, TX
Posted Date: 2022-04-13T04:00Z

[Federal Register Volume 87, Number 71 (Wednesday, April 13, 2022)]
[Notices]
[Pages 21884-21885]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2022-07823]

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ENVIRONMENTAL PROTECTION AGENCY

[FRL-9715-01-R6]

Clean Air Act Operating Permit Program; Petitions for Objection 
to State Operating Permit for ExxonMobil Corp, Baytown Chemical Plant, 
Harris County, Texas

AGENCY: Environmental Protection Agency (EPA).

ACTION: Notice of final Order on Petition for objection to Clean Air 
Act title V operating permit.

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SUMMARY: The Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) Administrator signed 
an Order dated March 18, 2022, granting in part and denying in part a 
Petition dated September 30, 2020 from the Environmental Integrity 
Project, Sierra Club, and Texas Campaign for the Environment. The 
Petition requested that the EPA object to a Clean Air Act (CAA) title V 
operating permit issued by the Texas Commission on

[[Page 21885]]

Environmental Quality (TCEQ) to ExxonMobil Corp. for its Baytown 
Chemical Plant located in Harris County, Texas.

ADDRESSES: The EPA requests that you contact the individual listed in 
the FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT section to view copies of the final 
Order, the Petition, and other supporting information. Out of an 
abundance of caution for members of the public and our staff, the EPA 
Region 6 office is currently closed to the public to reduce the risk of 
transmitting COVID-19. Please call or email the contact listed below if 
you need alternative access to the final Order and Petition, which are 
available electronically at: https://www.epa.gov/title-v-operating-permits/title-v-petition-database.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Aimee Wilson, EPA Region 6 Office, Air 
Permits Section, (214) 665-7596, [email protected].

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: The CAA affords EPA a 45-day period to 
review and object to, as appropriate, operating permits proposed by 
state permitting authorities under title V of the CAA. Section 
505(b)(2) of the CAA authorizes any person to petition the EPA 
Administrator to object to a title V operating permit within 60 days 
after the expiration of the EPA's 45-day review period if the EPA has 
not objected on its own initiative. Petitions must be based only on 
objections to the permit that were raised with reasonable specificity 
during the public comment period provided by the state, unless the 
petitioner demonstrates that it was impracticable to raise these issues 
during the comment period or unless the grounds for the issue arose 
after this period.
    The EPA received the Petition from the Environmental Integrity 
Project, Sierra Club, and Texas Campaign for the Environment dated 
September 30, 2020, requesting that the EPA object to the issuance of 
operating permit no. O2269, issued by TCEQ to the Baytown Chemical 
Plant in Harris County, Texas. The Petition claims the TCEQ Executive 
Director failed to adjust ExxonMobil's Plantwide Applicability Limits 
(PAL) for NOx and VOC downward to account for Harris County's recent 
designation as a serious Ozone nonattainment area and the revised 
proposed permit improperly incorporates a Major NSR permit by 
reference, fails to assure compliance with the PAL, fails to establish 
a compliance schedule for ExxonMobil to comply with its commitment to 
obtain a SIP-approved Chapter 116, Subchapter B permit for units and 
emissions authorized by state-only flexible permit No. 20211/PAL16, 
improperly incorporates confidential permit terms, and fails to specify 
monitoring, testing, and recordkeeping requirements sufficient to 
assure compliance with applicable requirements for projects authorized 
by permits by rule (PBR).
    On March 18, 2022, the EPA Administrator issued an Order granting 
in part and denying in part the Petition. The Order explains the basis 
for EPA's decision.

    Dated: April 4, 2022.
David Garcia,
Director, Air and Radiation Division, Region 6.
[FR Doc. 2022-07823 Filed 4-12-22; 8:45 am]
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