Document ID: EPA_FRDOC_0001-28537
Agency: epa
Document Type: Notice
Title: Clean Air Act Operating Permit Program: Petition for Objection to State Operating Permit for Valero Refining-Texas, LP, Harris County, TX
Posted Date: 2022-07-20T04:00Z

[Federal Register Volume 87, Number 138 (Wednesday, July 20, 2022)]
[Notices]
[Pages 43270-43271]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2022-15428]

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ENVIRONMENTAL PROTECTION AGENCY

[FRL-10005-01-R6]

Clean Air Act Operating Permit Program; Petition for Objection to 
State Operating Permit for Valero Refining-Texas, L.P., 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 June 30, 2022, granting in part and denying in part a 
Petition dated June 29, 2021, from Texas Environmental Justice Advocacy 
Services, Sierra Club, Caring for Pasadena Communities, Environmental 
Integrity Project, and Earthjustice. The Petition requested that the 
EPA object to a Clean Air Act (CAA) title V operating

[[Page 43271]]

permit issued by the Texas Commission on Environmental Quality (TCEQ) 
to the Valero Houston Refinery 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 may be 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 the 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 Texas Environmental Justice 
Advocacy Services, Sierra Club, Caring for Pasadena Communities, 
Environmental Integrity Project, and Earthjustice dated June 29, 2021, 
requesting that the EPA object to the issuance of operating permit no. 
O1381, issued by TCEQ to the Valero Houston Refinery in Harris County, 
Texas. The Petition claims TCEQ failed to provide notice to the public 
through a mailing list, the proposed permit fails to incorporate, 
describe, and assure compliance with Permits by Rule, the proposed 
permit fails to assure compliance with NSPS and NESHAP requirements, 
the proposed permit's monitoring, reporting, and emission calculation 
requirements cannot ensure compliance for key units and limits at the 
refinery, TCEQ failed to provide a reasoned explanation for why the 
proposed permit ensures compliance with the limits at issue for the 
FCCU, Flares, DAF Unit, Boilers, Fugitive Emissions, Atmospheric Tower 
Heater, Tanks, and Cooling Towers, the proposed permit includes 
unlawful provisions relaxing federally enforceable emission limits 
during startup, shutdown, and maintenance periods, and the proposed 
permit unlawfully incorporates language giving TCEQ discretion 
regarding whether CEMS data may be used to determine compliance.
    On June 30, 2022, the EPA Administrator issued an Order granting in 
part and denying in part the Petition. The Order explains the basis for 
the EPA's decision.

    Dated: July 14, 2022.
David Garcia,
Director, Air and Radiation Division, Region 6.
[FR Doc. 2022-15428 Filed 7-19-22; 8:45 am]
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