[Federal Register Volume 75, Number 169 (Wednesday, September 1, 2010)]
[Proposed Rules]
[Pages 53613-53615]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2010-21699]
[[Page 53613]]
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ENVIRONMENTAL PROTECTION AGENCY
40 CFR Parts 51, 52, 72, 78, and 97
[EPA-HQ-OAR-2009-0491; FRL-9194-9]
RIN 2060-AP50
Notice of Data Availability Supporting Federal Implementation
Plans To Reduce Interstate Transport of Fine Particulate Matter and
Ozone
AGENCY: Environmental Protection Agency (EPA).
ACTION: Notice of data availability (NODA) for the Proposed Transport
Rule.
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SUMMARY: The EPA is providing notice that it is supplementing the
record to the Proposed Transport Rule (75 FR 45210). The EPA has placed
in the docket for the Proposed Transport Rule (Docket ID No. EPA-HQ-
OAR-2009-0491) additional information relevant to the rulemaking,
including, among other things, an updated version of the power sector
modeling platform that EPA proposes to use to support the final rule.
This new power sector modeling platform consists of updated unit level
input data (the National Electric Energy Data System (NEEDS v4.10)) and
a set of model run results with the updated modeling platform
(Integrated Planning Model (IPM) v4.10), detailed documentation of the
updated version of the model, and user guides to input assumptions and
model outputs. The additional information also includes a list of
further planned updates to support the final rulemaking. Except as
explained below, EPA is not extending the comment period on the
Proposed Transport Rule beyond October 1st, 2010.
DATES: Comments must be received on or before October 15, 2010. Please
refer to SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION for additional information on
submitting comments.
ADDRESSES: Submit your comments, identified by Docket ID No. EPA-HQ-
OAR-2009-0491 by one of the following methods:
http://www.regulations.gov. Follow the online instructions
for submitting comments. Attention Docket ID No. EPA-HQ-OAR-2009-0491.
Fax: (202) 566-9744. Attention Docket ID No. EPA-HQ-OAR-
2009-0491.
Mail: EPA Docket Center, EPA West (Air Docket), Attention
Docket ID No. EPA-HQ-OAR-2009-0491, U.S. Environmental Protection
Agency, Mailcode: 2822T, 1200 Pennsylvania Avenue, NW., Washington, DC
20460. Please include 2 copies. In addition, please mail a copy of your
comments on the information collection provisions to the Office of
Information and Regulatory Affairs, Office of Management and Budget
(OMB), Attn: Desk Officer for EPA, 725 17th Street, NW., Washington, DC
20503.
Hand Delivery: U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, EPA
West (Air Docket), 1301 Constitution Avenue, NW., Room 3334,
Washington, DC 20004, Attention Docket ID No. EPA-HQ-OAR-2009-0491.
Such deliveries are only accepted during the Docket's normal hours of
operation, and special arrangements should be made for deliveries of
boxed information.
Instructions: Direct your comments to Docket ID No. EPA-HQ-OAR-
2009-0491. 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.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 http://www.regulations.gov or e-mail. The http://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 http://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, avoid any form of encryption, and be
free of any defects or viruses. For additional information about EPA's
public docket, visit the EPA Docket Center homepage at http://www.epa.gov/epahome/dockets.htm.
Docket: All documents in the docket are listed in the http://www.regulations.gov index. Although listed in the index, some
information is not publicly available, e.g., CBI or other information
whose disclosure is restricted by statute. Certain other material, such
as copyrighted material, will be publicly available only in hard copy.
Publicly available docket materials are available either electronically
in http://www.regulations.gov or in hard copy at the Air and Radiation
Docket and Information Center, EPA/DC, EPA East Building, Room 3334,
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 Air Docket is (202)
566-1742.
FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: For questions regarding the NEEDS
database Version 4.10 contact Erich Eschmann, Clean Air Markets
Division, USEPA Headquarters, Ariel Rios Building, 1200 Pennsylvania
Avenue, NW., Mail Code: 6204J, Washington, DC 20460; telephone number:
(202) 343-9128; fax number: (202) 343-2359. For question regarding the
IPM Version 4.10 assumptions contact Serpil Kayin, Clean Air Markets
Division, USEPA Headquarters, Ariel Rios Building, 1200 Pennsylvania
Avenue, NW., Mail Code: 6204J, Washington, DC 20460; telephone number:
(202) 343-9390; fax number: (202) 343-2359.
SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: Detailed background information describing
the proposed rulemaking may be found in a previously published notice:
Federal Implementation Plans To Reduce Interstate Transport of Fine
Particulate Matter and Ozone (Proposed Transport Rule); Proposed Rule
75 FR 45210, August 2, 2010.
The information placed in the docket is also available for public
review on the Web site for this rulemaking at http://www.epa.gov/airtransport/. If additional relevant supporting information becomes
available in the future, EPA will place this information in the docket
and make it available for public review on this Web site. Today's
notice of data availability does not extend the comment period for the
Proposed Transport Rule, which ends on October 1, 2010. However, during
the comment period for the NODA, EPA will accept comments on both the
specific data that EPA is placing in the docket as well as any
potential impacts of that data on the Proposed Transport Rule until
October 15th, 2010.
[[Page 53614]]
I. Additional Information on Submitting Comments
A. How can I help EPA ensure that my comments are reviewed quickly?
To expedite review of your comments by Agency staff, you are
encouraged to send a separate copy of your comments, in addition to the
copy you submit to the official docket, to Murat Kavlak, Clean Air
Markets Division, USEPA Headquarters, Ariel Rios Building, 1200
Pennsylvania Avenue, NW., Mail Code: 6204J, Washington, DC 20460;
telephone number: (202) 343-9634; fax number: (202) 343 2359.
B. What should I consider as I prepare my comments for EPA?
1. Submitting CBI. Do not submit this information to EPA through
EDOCKET, regulations.gov or e-mail. 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. Send or deliver information
identified as CBI only to the following address: Gene Sun, Clean Air
Markets Division, USEPA Headquarters, Ariel Rios Building, 1200
Pennsylvania Avenue, NW., Mail Code: 6204J, Washington, DC 20460;
telephone number: (202) 343-9119; fax number: (202) 343 2359.
2. Tips for preparing your comments.
When submitting comments, remember to:
i. Identify the NODA by docket number and other identifying
information (subject heading, Federal Register date and page number).
ii. Follow directions--The agency may ask you to respond to
specific questions or organize comments by referencing a Code of
Federal Regulations (CFR) part or section number.
iii. Explain your comments, why you agree or disagree; suggest
alternatives and substitute language for your requested changes.
iv. Describe any assumptions and provide any technical information
and/or data that you used.
v. If you estimate potential costs or burdens, explain how you
arrived at your estimate in sufficient detail to allow for it to be
reproduced.
vi. Provide specific examples to illustrate your concerns, and
suggest alternatives.
vii. Explain your views as clearly as possible, avoiding the use of
profanity or personal threats.
viii. Make sure to submit your comments by the comment period
deadline identified.
II. Web Site for Rulemaking Information
The EPA has previously established a Web site for the proposed
rulemaking at http://www.epa.gov/airtransport. The Web site includes
the proposed rulemaking actions and other related information that the
public may find useful in addition to a link to this NODA.
III. New Information Placed in the Docket
The EPA has placed the information described below in the Proposed
Transport Rule docket EPA-HQ-OAR-2009-0491.
An updated version of NEEDS (v4.10). This database
provides unit level characteristics of the electric generating units
(EGUs) included in the IPM modeling. This includes both units affected
by the Proposed Transport Rule and other EGUs (e.g. fossil-fired units
smaller than 25 MWe, non-fossil-fired units, and fossil-fired units 25
MWe or greater in States not subject to the Proposed Transport Rule).
User Guide to NEEDS v4.10.
Detailed documentation of the IPM v4.10.
New base case modeling run results with the updated IPM
platform (v4.10): Summary Reports (for 2012, 2015, 2020, 2030) and unit
level parsed file for 2012 (this modeling run is analogous to the base
case run used to support the air quality modeling that determined which
States significantly contributed to non-attainment or interference with
maintenance in the Proposed Transport Rule).
New policy case modeling run (identified as ``TR SB
Limited Trading'') with the updated IPM platform (v4.10): Summary
Reports (for 2012, 2015, 2020, 2030) and unit level parsed file for
2014 (this modeling run is analogous to the preferred policy option run
in the Proposed Transport Rule).
New base case run results with the updated IPM platform
(v4.10), as described above, except with the Energy Information
Administration's Annual Energy Outlook (AEO) 2010 gas resource
assumptions: Summary Reports (for 2012, 2015, 2020, 2030) and unit
level parsed file for 2012.
New policy case (identified as ``TR SB Limited Trading'')
with the updated IPM platform (v4.10), as described above, except with
AEO 2010 gas resource assumptions: Summary Reports (for 2012, 2015,
2020, 2030) and unit level parsed file for 2014.
These policy runs include the same State-level caps that EPA
modeled in the Proposed Transport Rule. The caps have not been modified
to account for any changes that the new modeling might suggest; they
are merely provided for informational purposes to allow commenters to
understand the impact that changes in the model platform have on the
projected impacts of the caps.
User Guide to IPM v4.10 output files (system summary
report and parsed files).
A description of how to build an alternative gas resource
assumption input for modeling (an intermediate option between AEO 2010
and EPA gas resource assumptions).
A summary of other planned input updates to be implemented
in the final rulemaking (further described below).
EPA proposes to use this version of the IPM model in the final
Transport Rule, modified to address any comments that EPA receives as
part of the transport rulemaking effort and other power sector
analysis. Changes from the projections relied on in the proposed rule,
from using an updated model, could impact the final rulemaking in a
number of ways including, but not limited to:
1. Changing emission projections that were used to determine which
downwind areas have air quality concerns (i.e., non-attainment or
maintenance) absent this rulemaking and to determine which States
contribute to those problems.
2. Changing cost and emission projections used in the multi-factor
test to determine the amount of emissions that represent significant
contribution.
EPA believes that the assumptions regarding natural gas resources
in the primary IPM v4.10 base case are the appropriate ones to use. EPA
is however providing information on an alternative set of assumptions
(AEO 2010), as well as a third way that gas price assumptions could be
developed. EPA requests comment on the appropriate natural gas
assumptions to use.
EPA intends to update the NOX rates for fossil-fuel
fired units in the final rule to reflect the more recent 2009 data. IPM
v4.10 and the previous version of IPM used for the Proposed Transport
Rule analysis relied on 2007 unit level NOX rates. The
updated NOX rates will more
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accurately portray the unit level control installations that have
occurred at power plants during the past several years. In general,
about 25% of coal plants have a 2009 NOX rate that reflects
a change from the 2007 that is greater than 0.1 lb/mmbtu and 10% of the
2007 value. The 2009 unit level data can be retrieved from EPA's Data
and Maps at http://camddataandmaps.epa.gov/gdm/.
EPA also intends to update information related to new units, new
installation of pollution controls, and planned retirements.
Information on changes in these areas that EPA believes have happened
since IPM v4.10 version of the model has been finalized is also
included in the docket.
Between now and the time that EPA finalizes the Transport Rule,
additional information used to support the final transport rulemaking
may be placed in the docket.
Dated: August 25, 2010.
Dina W. Kruger,
Acting Director, Office of Atmospheric Programs.
[FR Doc. 2010-21699 Filed 8-31-10; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 6560-50-P