[Federal Register: July 14, 2004 (Volume 69, Number 134)]
[Proposed Rules]
[Page 42123-42125]
From the Federal Register Online via GPO Access [wais.access.gpo.gov]
[DOCID:fr14jy04-10]
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Proposed Rules
Federal Register
________________________________________________________________________
This section of the FEDERAL REGISTER contains notices to the public of
the proposed issuance of rules and regulations. The purpose of these
notices is to give interested persons an opportunity to participate in
the rule making prior to the adoption of the final rules.
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[[Page 42123]]
ENVIRONMENTAL PROTECTION AGENCY
40 CFR Parts 60 and 62
[OAR-2004-0007; FRL-7786-7]
RIN 2060-AM11
Emission Guidelines and Compliance Times for Large Municipal
Waste Combustors That Are Constructed on or Before September 20, 1994,
and Federal Plan Requirements for Large Municipal Waste Combustors
Constructed on or Before September 20, 1994
AGENCY: Environmental Protection Agency (EPA).
ACTION: Proposed rule; amendments.
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SUMMARY: We are proposing to amend the large municipal waste combustor
(MWC) emission guidelines to add a carbon monoxide (CO) emission limit
for one type of MWC technology that was not previously addressed. When
the large MWC emission guidelines were developed, all existing MWC
units using the fluidized bed, mixed fuel (wood/refuse-derived fuel)
technology were judged to be small MWC units, i.e., having a design
combustion capacity of 35 to 250 tons per day (tpd) of municipal solid
waste (MSW). Two existing MWC units have since been determined to be
large MWC units, i.e., having a design combustion capacity of 250 or
more tpd MSW, and thus subject to the large MWC emission guidelines.
The proposed rule would amend the emission guidelines to add a CO
emission limit specific to this technology. The proposed rule also
would amend the large MWC Federal plan, which implements the emission
guidelines. The CO emission limit being added of 200 parts per million
(ppm) by dry volume (24-hour geometric mean) for fluidized bed, mixed
fuel (wood/refuse-derived fuel) type MWC unit is the same CO limit used
for this technology in the emission guidelines for small MWC units. Low
CO levels indicate good combustion, and thus good control of other
pollutants. Good combustion combined with air pollution control devices
significantly reduces the release of air pollutants to the environment.
In the Rule and Regulations section of today's Federal Register, we
are taking direct final action on the proposed amendments because we
view the revisions as noncontroversial, and we anticipate no
significant adverse comments. We have explained our reasons for the
amendments in the preamble to the direct final rule. If we receive no
significant adverse comments, we will take no further action on the
proposed rule. If we receive significant adverse comments, we will
publish a timely withdrawal of the direct final rule in the Federal
Register and address comments in a subsequent Federal Register action
based on the proposal.
DATES: Comments. Submit comments on or before August 13, 2004.
Public Hearing. If anyone contacts us by August 3, 2004, requesting
to speak at a public hearing, we will hold a public hearing on August
13, 2004. Persons interested in attending the public hearing should
contact Ms. Kelly Hayes at (919) 541-5578 to verify that a hearing will
be held.
ADDRESSES: Submit your comments, identified by Docket ID No. OAR-2004-
0007, by one of the following methods:
Federal eRulemaking Portal. http://www.regulations.gov. Follow the
on-line instructions for submitting comments.
Agency Web site. http://www.epa.gov/edocket. EDOCKET, EPA's
electronic public docket and comment system, is EPA's preferred method
for receiving comments. Follow the on-line instructions for submitting
comments.
By Mail. Send your comments to: Environmental Protection Agency,
EPA Docket Center (EPA/DC), Mailcode 6102T, 1200 Pennsylvania Ave.,
NW., Washington, DC 20460, Attention Docket ID No. OAR-2004-0007.
Please include a total of two copies. The EPA requests a separate copy
also be sent to the contact person identified below (see FOR FURTHER
INFORMATION CONTACT).
By Hand Delivery or Courier. Deliver your comments to: EPA Docket
Center (EPA/DC), EPA West Building, Room B108, 1301 Constitution Ave.,
NW., Washington, DC, Attention Docket ID No. OAR-2004-0007. Such
deliveries are accepted only during the normal hours of operation as
identified above. Special arrangements should be made for deliveries of
boxed information.
By Facsimile. Fax your comments to (202) 566-1741, Attention Docket
ID No. OAR-2004-0007.
Instructions: Direct your comments to Docket ID No. OAR-2004-0007.
The EPA's policy is that all comments received will be included in the
public docket without change and may be made available online at http://www.epa.gov/edocket
, 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 EDOCKET, regulations.gov, or e-
mail. The EPA EDOCKET and the federal regulations.gov Web sites are
``anonymous access'' systems, 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 EDOCKET or 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.
Public Hearing. If a public hearing is held, it will be held at
EPA's RTP Campus located at 109 T.W. Alexander Drive in Research
Triangle Park, NC, or an alternate site nearby.
Docket. All documents in the docket are listed in the EDOCKET index
at http://www.epa.gov/edocket. Although listed in the index, some
information is not publicly available, i.e., 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
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publicly available only in hard copy form. Publicly available docket
materials are available either electronically in EDOCKET or in hard
copy at the EPA Docket Center (EPA/DC), EPA West Building, Room B102,
1301 Constitution Ave., NW., Washington, DC. The Public Reading Room is
open from 8:30 a.m. to 4:30 p.m., Monday through Friday, excluding
legal holidays. The telephone number for the Public Reading Room is
(202) 566-1744, and the telephone number for the EPA Docket Center is
(202) 566-1742.
FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Mr. Walt Stevenson, Combustion Group,
Emission Standards Division (C439-01), U.S. Environmental Protection
Agency, Research Triangle Park, North Carolina 27711, (919) 541-5264,
e-mail stevenson.walt@epa.gov.
SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: Regulated Entities. Categories and entities
potentially regulated by the proposed rule are existing MWC units with
a design combustion capacity of greater than 250 tpd of MSW. The MWC
emission guidelines and the MWC Federal plan affect the following
categories of sources:
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Examples of potentially regulated
Category NAICS code SIC code entities
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Industry, Federal government, and State/ 562213 4953 Solid waste combustors or
local/tribal governments. 92411 9511 incinerators at waste-to-energy
facilities that generate
electricity or steam from the
combustion of garbage (typically
municipal solid waste); and solid
waste combustors or incinerators
at facilities that combust garbage
(typically municipal solid waste)
and do not recover energy from the
waste.
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This table is not intended to be exhaustive, but rather provides a
guide for readers regarding entities likely to be regulated by the
proposed rule. To determine whether your facility is regulated by the
proposed rule, you should examine the applicability criteria in Sec.
60.32b of 40 CFR part 60, subpart Cb, and Sec. 62.14102 of 40 CFR part
62, subpart FFF. If you have any questions regarding the applicability
of the proposed rule to a particular entity, contact the person listed
in the preceding FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT section.
Submitting CBI. Do not submit information that you consider to be
CBI electronically through EDocket, regulations.gov, or e-mail. Send or
deliver information identified as CBI to only the following address:
Mr. Walt Stevenson, c/o OAQPS Document Control Officer (Room C439-01),
U.S. EPA, Research Triangle Park, 27711, Attention Docket ID No. OAR-
2004-0007. Clearly mark the part or all of the information that you
claim to be CBI. For CBI information in a disk or CD ROM that you mail
to EPA, mark the outside of the disk or CD ROM as CBI and then identify
electronically within the disk or CD ROM the specific information that
is claimed as CBI. In addition to one complete version of the comment
that includes information claimed as CBI, a copy of the comment that
does not contain the information claimed as CBI must be submitted for
inclusion in the public docket. Information so marked will not be
disclosed except in accordance with procedures set forth in 40 CFR part
2.
Docket. The docket number for the proposed amendment to the
emission guidelines (40 CFR part 60, subpart Cb) and Federal plan (40
CFR part 62, subpart FFF) is Docket ID No. OAR-2004-0007. Other dockets
incorporated by reference include Docket ID Nos. A-89-08, A-90-45, and
A-98-18 for the emission guidelines amendment and Docket ID Nos. A-97-
45 and A-2000-39 for the Federal plan amendment. The docket includes
background information and supported the proposal and promulgation of
the emission guidelines (40 CFR part 60, subparts Ca and Ea) and large
MWC Federal plan (40 CFR part 62, subpart FFF).
Worldwide Web (WWW). In addition to being available in the docket,
an electronic copy of the proposed rule is also available on the WWW
through the Technology Transfer Network (TTN). Following signature, a
copy of the promulgated direct final rule will be posted on the TTN's
policy and guidance page for newly proposed or promulgated rules at
http://www.epa.gov/ttn/oarpg. The TTN provides information and
technology exchange in various areas of air pollution control. If more
information regarding the TTN is needed, call the TTN Help line at
(919) 541-5384.
I. Background and Summary of Amendments
The proposed rule amends the MWC emission guidelines and the MWC
Federal plan for large MWC units to add a CO emission limit for
bubbling fluidized bed combustors that burn a mixture of wood and
refuse-derived fuel (RDF). This is the same combustor technology and CO
emission limit that appear in the small MWC emission guidelines. In
developing the emission guidelines for small MWC units, we recognized
the unique characteristics of the existing bubbling fluidized bed MWC
units combusting a mixture of wood and RDF and included a CO emission
limit specific to that technology. Since promulgation of the emission
guidelines for large MWC units, two existing fluidized bed MWC units
combusting a mixture of wood and RDF were determined to be large MWC
units, subject to the large MWC emission guidelines. However, the large
MWC emission guidelines did not include bubbling fluidized bed MWC
units combusting a mixture of wood and RDF because none were judged to
be in the large category when the large MWC emission guidelines were
developed and adopted in 1995. The proposed amendments recognize
bubbling fluidized bed (wood/RDF) MWC units as an MWC technology in the
large MWC category and add a CO emission limit of 200 ppm by dry volume
(24-hour geometric mean). This is the same CO emission limit, and is
based on the same analysis for this technology, that appears in the
small MWC emission guidelines. The proposed amendments similarly revise
the large MWC Federal plan, which implements the emission guidelines.
II. Statutory and Executive Order Reviews
For a complete discussion of all of the administrative requirements
of the proposed rule, see the direct final rule in the Rules and
Regulations section of today's Federal Register.
Regulatory Flexibility Act
The Regulatory Flexibility Act (RFA) as amended by the Small
business Regulatory Enforcement Fairness Act (SBREFA) of 1996, 5 U.S.C.
601 et seq., generally requires an agency to prepare a regulatory
flexibility analysis of any rule subject to notice and comment
rulemaking requirements under the Administrative Procedures Act or any
other statute unless the agency certifies that the rule will not have a
significant impact on a substantial number of small entities. Small
entities include small
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businesses, small government organizations, and small government
jurisdictions.
For purposes of assessing the impacts of the proposed rule on small
entities, small entity is defined as follows:
(1) A small business in the regulated industry that has a gross
annual revenue less than $6 million;
(2) A small governmental jurisdiction that is a government of a
city, county, town, school district or special district with a
population of less than 50,000; or
(3) A small organization that is any not-for-profit enterprise that
is independently owned and operated and is not dominant in its field.
Section 605 of the RFA requires Federal agencies to give special
consideration to the impacts of regulations on small entities, which
are small businesses, small organizations, and small governments.
During the 1995 MWC rulemaking, EPA estimated that few, if any, small
entities would be affected by the promulgated guidelines and standards
and, therefore, a regulatory flexibility analysis was not required (see
60 FR 65413).
After considering the economic impacts of today's proposed rule on
small entities, I certify that the proposed rule will not have a
significant economic impact on a substantial number of small entities.
The proposed rule will not impose any requirements on small entities
because it does not impose any additional regulatory requirements.
List of Subjects in 40 CFR Parts 60 and 62
Environmental protection, Administrative practice and procedure,
Air pollution control, Intergovernmental relations, Reporting and
recordkeeping requirements.
Dated: July 8, 2004.
Michael O. Leavitt,
Administrator.
[FR Doc. 04-15943 Filed 7-13-04; 8:45 am]
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