Source: https://www.federalregister.gov/articles/2010/08/12/2010-19819/approval-and-promulgation-of-air-quality-implementation-plans-new-mexico-revisions-to-emissions
Timestamp: 2016-02-12 05:44:20
Document Index: 314093419

Matched Legal Cases: ['art 20', 'art 51', 'art 1', '§ 52', 'art 1', 'art 73']

Federal Register | Approval and Promulgation of Air Quality Implementation Plans; New Mexico; Revisions to Emissions Inventory Reporting Requirements, and General Provisions
Dates: This direct final rule will be effective October 12, 2010 without further notice unless EPA receives adverse comments by September 13, 2010. If adverse comments are received, EPA will publish a timely withdrawal of the direct final rule in the Federal Register informing the public that the rule will not take effect.
-48864 (5 pages)
FRL-9187-8
Document Number: 2010-19819
Shorter URL: https://federalregister.gov/a/2010-19819 Related Topics
The EPA is taking direct final action to approve revisions to the New Mexico State Implementation Plan (SIP). These revisions concern two separate actions. First, we are approving revisions to regulations on Emission Inventories (EIs) submitted by stationary sources of air pollutants. EIs are critical for the efforts of state, local, and federal agencies to attain and maintain the National Ambient Air Quality Standards (NAAQS) that EPA has established for criteria pollutants such as ozone, particulate matter, and carbon monoxide. The revisions add new definitions; modify existing definitions; and require stationary sources of air pollutants located in New Mexico outside of Bernalillo County to report emissions location information, PM 2.5 emissions, and ammonia emissions to New Mexico Environment Department (NMED). The revisions also allow NMED to require speciation of hazardous air pollutants for emissions reporting. Second, we are approving revisions to the New Mexico Administrative Code (NMAC), 20.2.1 NMAC—General Provisions. We are adding a new definition for Significant Figures into the New Mexico SIP. The EPA is approving these two actions pursuant to section 110 of the Federal Clean Air Act (CAA, Act).
I. What actions are we taking?
C. EPA's Action
III. What is the background of these actions?
IV. What is EPA's evaluation of these revisions?
This direct final rule will be effective October 12, 2010 without further notice unless EPA receives adverse comments by September 13, 2010. If adverse comments are received, EPA will publish a timely withdrawal of the direct final rule in the Federal Register informing the public that the rule will not take effect.
Submit your comments, identified by Docket No EPA-R06-OAR-2005-NM-0009, by one of the following methods:
EPA Region 6 “Contact Us” Web site: http://epa.gov/region6/r6coment.htm. Please click on “6PD (Multimedia)” and select “Air” before submitting comments.
Hand or Courier Delivery: Mr. Guy Donaldson, Chief, Air Planning Section (6PD-L), Environmental Protection Agency, 1445 Ross Avenue, Suite 1200, Dallas, Texas 75202-2733. Such deliveries are accepted only between the hours of 8 a.m. and 4 p.m. weekdays, and not on legal holidays. Special arrangements should be made for deliveries of boxed information. Instructions: Direct your comments to Docket No. EPA-R06-OAR-2005-NM-0009. EPA's policy is that all comments received will be included in the public docket without change and may be made available online at www.regulations.gov, including any personal information provided, unless the comment includes information claimed to be Confidential Business Information (CBI) or other information whose disclosure is restricted by statute. Do not submit information that you consider to be CBI or otherwise protected through www.regulations.gov or e-mail. The www.regulations.gov Web site is an “anonymous access” system, which means EPA will not know your identity or contact information unless you provide it in the body of your comment. If you send an e-mail comment directly to EPA without going through www.regulations.gov your e-mail address will be automatically captured and included as part of the comment that is placed in the public docket and made available on the Internet. If you submit an electronic comment, EPA recommends that you include your name and other contact information in the body of your comment and with any disk or CD-ROM you submit. If EPA cannot read your comment due to technical difficulties and cannot contact you for clarification, EPA may not be able to consider your comment. Electronic files should avoid the use of special characters, any form of encryption, and be free of any defects or viruses.
The state submittal is also available for public inspection during official business hours, by appointment, at the NMED, Air Quality Bureau, 1301 Siler Road, Building B, Santa Fe, New Mexico 87507.
Throughout this document “we”, “us”, or “our” refer to EPA.
I. What actions are we taking? Back to Top
We are approving revisions to the New Mexico SIP submitted by the State to meet the EI requirements of the CAA. The revisions were submitted to EPA Region 6 on April 11, 2002, December 3, 2003, and April 25, 2005.
The revisions to part 20.2.73 NMAC (Notice of Intent and Emissions Inventory Requirements) allow NMED to meet EPA's Air Emissions Reporting Requirements (40 CFR Part 51, Subpart A). In addition, the revisions will allow the NMED to collect more specific data regarding Hazardous Air Pollutants. We are approving these SIP revisions pursuant to section 110 of the CAA. The reporting of emissions and emissions-related data will help NMED to attain and maintain the NAAQS. See Chapter A of the TSD for more information.
We received a SIP submittal package, with a letter dated April 8, 2010 from the Governor of New Mexico on behalf of the NMED, concerning NMAC, Title 20 Environment Protection, Chapter 2 Air Quality, Part 1 General Provisions (20.2.1 NMAC—General Provisions). This submittal revises the New Mexico SIP by adding a new section 20.2.1.116 Significant Figures to the existing state rule 20.2.1 NMAC—General Provisions. Adopting 20.2.1.116 Significant Figures should facilitate calculating air emissions and determining compliance with an emission standard. We are approving this SIP revision pursuant to section 110 of the Act.
EPA is publishing this rule without prior proposal because we view this as a noncontroversial amendment and anticipate no relevant adverse comments. However, in the proposed rules section of this Federal Register publication, we are publishing a separate document that will serve as the proposal to approve the SIP revision if relevant adverse comments are received. This rule will be effective on October 12, 2010 without further notice unless we receive relevant adverse comments by September 13, 2010. If we receive relevant adverse comments, we will publish a timely withdrawal in the Federal Register informing the public that the rule will not take effect. We will then address all public comments in a subsequent final rule based on the proposed rule. However, we will not institute a second comment period on this action. Any parties interested in commenting must do so now. Please note that if we receive adverse comments on an amendment, paragraph, or section of this rule and if that provision may be severed from the remainder of the rule, we may adopt as final those provisions of the rule that are not the subject of an adverse comment. Further, in accordance with a Consent Decree, we will finalize our action on the Emissions Inventory portion of this SIP revision no later than January 2, 2011
II. What is a SIP? Back to Top
Section 110 of the CAA requires states to develop air pollution regulations and control strategies to ensure that air quality meets the NAAQS established by EPA. NAAQS are established under section 109 of the CAA, and currently address six criteria pollutants: carbon monoxide, nitrogen dioxide, ozone, lead, particulate matter, and sulfur dioxide.
III. What is the background of these actions? Back to Top
Emissions inventories are surveys of actual and/or allowable emissions of air pollutants in an area. Emissions inventories are critical for the efforts of state, local, and federal agencies to attain and maintain the NAAQS that EPA has established for criteria pollutants such as ozone, particulate matter, and carbon monoxide. States use emissions inventories submitted by stationary sources in developing the inventories required by the Clean Air Act. In 2005, New Mexico revised its SIP for air quality to amend the State regulations on emissions inventories submitted by stationary sources of air pollutants. The principal statutory authority for emissions inventory reporting requirements is found in section 110(a)(2)(F) of the Act, which provides that SIPs must require periodic reports on the nature and amounts of emissions and emissions-related data as may be prescribed by the EPA Administrator.
On April 11, 2002 New Mexico submitted to EPA a SIP revision that included an amendment to the NMAC regulation 20.2.73, Notice of Intent and Emission Inventory Requirements, Section 7, Definitions, which revised the definition of “Potential Emission Rate”. On December 1, 2003 submitted another revision to the SIP that added three new definitions to Section 7, and revised Section 20.2.73.300, Emission Inventory Requirements, to require smelters to submit an annual report of sulfur input in tons per year, and added emission tracking requirements for sulfur dioxide emission inventories. In July 2004 NMED proposed to revise the State's regulations on emissions inventories. On April 25, 2005 New Mexico submitted SIP revisions that required sources to report emissions location information, PM 2.5 and ammonia emissions, and allowed NMED to require reporting of speciated hazardous air pollutants.
The purpose of the General Revisions (20.2.1 NMAC) is to establish general requirements which apply to all parts of Chapter 2 (20.2.1 through 20.2.99 NMAC). We received a request to review and approve a revision to the General Provisions (20.2.1 NMAC) with a letter dated April 8, 2010. This submittal revises the New Mexico SIP by adding a new section, 20.2.1.116—Significant Figures, to the existing state rule 20.2.1 NMAC—General Provisions. The previous version of the 20.2.1 NMAC—General Provisions was approved by EPA on September 26, 1997 (62 FR 50518) at 52.1620(c)(66) effective November 25, 1997. We are approving this revision to the 20.2.1 NMAC—General Provisions as a direct final action.
IV. What is EPA's evaluation of these revisions? Back to Top
New Mexico submitted revisions to 20.2.73 NMAC for inclusion into the SIP that amend requirements on emissions inventories submitted by stationary sources of air pollutants located in New Mexico outside of Bernalillo County. The emissions inventory requirements for stationary sources of air pollutants were revised to (1) include reporting on emissions location information, PM 2.5 emissions, and ammonia emissions; and (2) allow NMED to require speciation of hazardous air pollutants for emissions reporting. In 2002, EPA issued the consolidated emissions reporting rule (CERR), (June 10, 2002 Federal Register, 67 FR 39602). The rule consolidated the various emissions reporting requirements that already exist into one place in the CFR, established new reporting requirements related to particulate matter less than or equal to 2.5 microns (PM 2.5) and regional haze, and established new requirements for the statewide reporting of area source and mobile source emissions. On December 17, 2008, EPA issued the Air Emissions Reporting Rule (73 FR 76539) which revised the emissions reporting requirements. The requirements can be found at 40 CFR 51 Subpart A. We have evaluated the State's submittal and have determined that the revisions meet the applicable requirements of the CAA and EPA's regulations. For more information on our evaluation, please see our Technical Support Document found in the electronic docket at http://www.regulations.gov.
Approval of these revisions will make New Mexico's emission inventory requirements consistent with EPA's Air Emissions Reporting Requirements and will make EPA's approved SIP consistent with the State's rules.
The revision to 20.2.1 NMAC—General Provisions, adds a new section 116, which sets forth the procedure to properly round significant digits in an air emission calculation, and its reporting to the NMED. These significant figures procedures will clarify any confusion with regards to emission calculations and reporting of the values. Section 116 adopts the same significant figures procedures described in EPA's June 6, 1990 Memorandum, from William G. Laxton, Technical Support Division Director to John S. Seitz, Stationary Source Compliance Division Director, entitled “Performance Test Calculation Guidelines.” A copy of this guidance document is available in the EPA docket No. EPA-R06-OAR-2005-NM-0009 for public inspection and review. These significant figures procedures will assist the sources in properly reporting air emissions, and assist the NMED's personnel in determining sources' compliance with applicable emissions limitations. This section should facilitate enforcement of the rules, and enhance the New Mexico SIP.
Today we are approving revisions to two portions of the New Mexico SIP. First, we are approving revisions to regulations on EIs submitted by stationary sources of air pollutants, in three SIP revisions submitted on April 11, 2002, December 1, 2003, and April 25, 2005. The revisions add new definitions, modify existing definitions, and require stationary sources of air pollutants located in New Mexico outside of Bernalillo County to report emissions location to NMED. The revisions also allow NMED to require speciation of hazardous air pollutants for purposes of reporting. Second, we are approving revisions to the 20.2.1 NMAC—General Provisions. We are also adding a new definition for Significant Figures into the New Mexico SIP, a revision that was submitted on April 8, 2010. EPA is approving these two actions pursuant to section 110 of the Act.
Under section 307(b)(1) of the Clean Air Act, petitions for judicial review of this action must be filed in the United States Court of Appeals for the appropriate circuit by October 12, 2010. 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) of the Act.)
2.The table in § 52.1620(c) entitled “EPA Approved New Mexico Regulations” is amended by: a. Revising the entry for Part 1 under New Mexico Administrative Code (NMAC) Title 20—Environment Protection, Chapter 2—Air Quality.
b. Revising the entry for Part 73 under New Mexico Administrative Code (NMAC) Title 20—Environment Protection, Chapter 2—Air Quality.
8/12/2010 [Insert FR page number where document begins]
Notice of Intent and Emissions Inventory Requirements
[FR Doc. 2010-19819 Filed 8-11-10; 8:45 am]
1. Notice of Proposed Settlement Agreement and Consent Decree, 75 FR 11886, March 12, 2010, and http://www.regulations.gov, docket No. EPA-HQ-OGC-2010-0221.