[Federal Register Volume 75, Number 241 (Thursday, December 16, 2010)]
[Rules and Regulations]
[Pages 78602-78606]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2010-31345]
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ENVIRONMENTAL PROTECTION AGENCY
40 CFR Part 52
[EPA-R05-OAR-2010-0449; FRL-9239-2]
Approval and Promulgation of Air Quality Implementation Plans;
Minnesota
AGENCY: Environmental Protection Agency (EPA).
ACTION: Direct final rule.
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SUMMARY: EPA is approving a request submitted by the Minnesota
Pollution Control Agency (MPCA) on May 7, 2010, to revise the Minnesota
State Implementation Plan (SIP) for particulate matter less than 10
microns (PM10). The approval revises the Minnesota SIP by
updating information for the Metropolitan Council Environmental
Services (MCES) Metropolitan Wastewater Treatment Plant located in St.
Paul, Minnesota. The revision reflects changes at the facility which
include the decommissioning of six multiple hearth incinerators and
associated equipment and the addition of three fluidized bed
incinerators and associated equipment. These revisions are included in
a joint Title I/Title V document for the MCES Metropolitan Wastewater
Treatment Plant, which replaces the document currently approved in the
SIP for the facility. These revisions will result in reducing the
PM10 emissions in the St. Paul area, and strengthen the
existing PM10 SIP.
DATES: This direct final rule will be effective February 14, 2011
unless EPA receives adverse comments by January 18, 2011. 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.
ADDRESSES: Submit your comments, identified by Docket ID No. EPA-R05-
OAR-2010-0449, by one of the following methods:
1. www.regulations.gov: Follow the on-line instructions for
submitting comments.
2. E-mail: [email protected].
3. Fax: (312) 408-2279.
4. Mail: Douglas Aburano, Chief, Control Strategies Section, Air
Programs Branch (AR-18J), U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, 77 West
Jackson Boulevard, Chicago, Illinois 60604.
5. Hand Delivery: Douglas Aburano, Chief, Control Strategies
Section, Air Programs Branch (AR-18J), U.S. Environmental Protection
Agency, 77 West Jackson Boulevard, Chicago, Illinois 60604. Such
deliveries are only accepted during the Regional Office normal hours of
operation, and special arrangements should be made for deliveries of
boxed information. The Regional Office official hours of business are
Monday through Friday, 8:30 a.m. to 4:30 p.m. excluding Federal
holidays.
Instructions: Direct your comments to Docket ID No. EPA-R05-OAR-
2010-0449. 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 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
[[Page 78603]]
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.
Docket: All documents in the docket are listed in the
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 Environmental
Protection Agency, Region 5, Air and Radiation Division, 77 West
Jackson Boulevard, Chicago, Illinois 60604. This facility is open from
8:30 a.m. to 4:30 p.m., Monday through Friday, excluding Federal
holidays. We recommend that you telephone Charles Hatten, Environmental
Engineer, at (312) 886-6031 before visiting the Region 5 office.
FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Charles Hatten, Environmental
Engineer, Control Strategies Section, Air Programs Branch (AR-18J),
U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, Region 5, 77 West Jackson
Boulevard, Chicago, Illinois 60604, (312) 886-6031,
[email protected].
SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: Throughout this document whenever ``we,''
``us,'' or ``our'' is used, we mean EPA. This supplementary information
section is arranged as follows:
I. General Information
II. What revision did the State request be incorporated into the
SIP?
III. What is EPA's analysis of the State submission?
IV. What action is EPA taking?
V. Statutory and Executive Order Reviews
I. General Information
A. Does this action apply to me?
This action applies only to the MCES Metropolitan Wastewater
Treatment Plant located at 2400 Childs Road, St. Paul, Minnesota
(Ramsey County).
B. Has public notice been provided?
Minnesota published a public notice of the revisions to the SIP on
July 31, 2009. The comment period began on August 1, 2009, and ended on
August 31, 2009. In the public notice, Minnesota stated it would hold a
public hearing if one was requested during the comment period. This
follows the alternative public participation process EPA approved on
June 5, 2006 (71 FR 32274). For limited types of SIP revisions that are
noncontroversial and for which the public has shown little or no
interest, a public hearing is not automatically required. Because no
one requested a public hearing, Minnesota did not hold a public
hearing.
C. What is the background to this action?
The MCES Metropolitan Wastewater Treatment Plant was found to be a
culpable source in the Childs Road area's nonattainment plan for the
PM10 National Ambient Air Quality Standard (NAAQS). However,
the area currently meets the NAAQS for PM10, and was
officially redesignated as attainment on September 24, 2002.
The MCES Metropolitan Wastewater Treatment Plant is an advanced
secondary waste water treatment plant. This plant is the principal
sewage treatment facility for the Minneapolis and St. Paul metropolitan
area serving more than 80 percent of the area's sewered population, as
well as commercial, institutional, and industrial wastewater
generators. The plant has a permitted average wet weather design flow
of 314 million gallons per day. Primary and secondary sludges from the
waste water treatment process, as well as sludges from other MCES
treatment facilities, are blended and thickened prior to incineration
on-site.
The primary source of emissions at this plant is the incineration
of sewage sludge, along with small amounts of spent activated carbon
and scum generated on-site in three fluidized bed sludge reactors
(FBRs). Each identical FBR is equipped with a pollution control train
consisting of carbon injection, high temperature fabric filter
baghouse, a venturi scrubber and a high efficiency wet electrostatic
precipitator. Each FBR is capable of processing 130 dry tons of sewage
sludge per day. The FBRs normally fire natural gas as an auxiliary
fuel, but are capable of utilizing No. 2 fuel oil. Emissions also
result from aeration of the wastewater during the treatment process,
operation of two auxiliary steam boilers for plant heating, operation
of emergency generators, ash and other material handling, fuel storage
activities, and other routine maintenance activities.
II. What revision did the State request be incorporated into the SIP?
The State has requested that EPA approve, as a revision to the
Minnesota SIP, a new joint Title I/Title V document, Air Permit No.
12300053-006, to replace the joint Title I/Title V document currently
approved into the SIP. The new joint document incorporates changes to
reflect current operating conditions and the applicable PM10
SIP conditions for MCES Metropolitan Wastewater Treatment Plant. The
biggest change to the facility included replacing the six multiple
hearth sludge incinerators, identified as emission units EU008 to
EU013, with three FBRs, identified as emission units EU035 to EU037.
A. What prior SIP actions are pertinent to this action?
The MCES Metropolitan Wastewater Treatment Plant in St. Paul,
Minnesota, has been subject to a federally enforceable permit
incorporated into Minnesota's SIP as a joint Title I/Title V document,
containing requirements for ensuring maintenance of the NAAQS for
PM10. In 2001, the joint Title I/Title V document, Air
Permit No. 12300053-001, incorporated operating conditions and the
applicable PM10 SIP conditions for the MCES Metropolitan
Wastewater Treatment Plant. The 2001 joint document included in the SIP
was based on plant operations using multiple hearth incinerators. The
limited potential emissions of PM10 from the facility,
considering all permit limitations, was 184.9 tons per year (tpy).
Prior to the issuance of the 2001 joint document, EPA and the MCES
Metropolitan Wastewater Treatment Plant had entered into a consent
decree (65 FR 52787), which imposed compliance measures and called for
the replacement of the multiple hearth incinerators with new FBRs. The
new FBRs were permitted in 2002.
Other changes at MCES Metropolitan Wastewater Treatment Plant since
2001 include the decommissioning of ash handling systems (EU016-EU018),
housekeeping vacuum system (EU033), multiple hearth auxiliary fuel feed
systems (EU027-EU032), two auxiliary boilers (EU14-EU015), and rotating
biological system contractors and sedimentation tanks (EU0005-EU007);
and, the installation of sludge alkaline stabilization processing
equipment (EU038-EU041), sludge centrifuge processing equipment (EU051-
EU053), ash and other materials handling equipment (EU045-EU050), two
replacement auxiliary boilers (EU042
[[Page 78604]]
and EU043), and an additional emergency back-up diesel generator.
The SIP requirements in the joint Title I/Title V document
submitted by MPCA are designated as ``Title I Condition: SIP for
PM10 NAAQS'' making it clear that the term is part of the
SIP's source-specific requirements.
B. What are Title I conditions and joint Title I/Title V documents?
SIP control measures were contained in permits issued to culpable
sources in Minnesota until 1990 when EPA determined that limits in
state-issued permits are not federally enforceable because the permits
expire. Minnesota then issued permanent Administrative Orders to
culpable sources in nonattainment areas from 1991 to February of 1996.
Minnesota's consolidated permitting regulations, approved into its
SIP on May 2, 1995 (60 FR 21447), include the term ``Title I
condition'' which was written, in part, to satisfy EPA requirements
that SIP control measures remain permanent. A ``Title I condition'' is
defined as ``any condition based on source-specific determination of
ambient impacts imposed for the purposes of achieving or maintaining
attainment with the national ambient air quality standard and which was
part of the state implementation plan approved by EPA or submitted to
the EPA pending approval under section 110 of the act * * *.'' The rule
also states that ``Title I conditions and the permittee's obligation to
comply with them, shall not expire, regardless of the expiration of the
other conditions of the permit.'' Further, ``any title I condition
shall remain in effect without regard to permit expiration or
reissuance, and shall be restated in the reissued permit.''
Minnesota has initiated using joint Title I/Title V documents as
the enforceable document for imposing emission limitations and
compliance requirements in SIPs. The SIP requirements in joint Title I/
Title V documents submitted by MPCA are cited as ``Title I
conditions,'' therefore ensuring that SIP requirements remain permanent
and enforceable. EPA reviewed the State's procedure for using joint
Title I/Title V documents to implement site-specific SIP requirements
and found it to be acceptable under both Titles I and V of the Clean
Air Act (CAA) (July 3, 1997 letter from David Kee, EPA, to Michael J.
Sandusky, MPCA). Further, a June 15, 2006, letter from EPA to MPCA
clarifies procedures to transfer requirements from Administrative
Orders to joint Title I/Title V documents.
III. What is EPA's analysis of the State submission?
This SIP revision replaces the joint Title I/Title V document
currently approved into the SIP for MCES Metropolitan Wastewater
Treatment Plant with a new joint Title I/Title V document, Air Permit
No.12300053-006. This document reflects current operating conditions
and applicable PM10 SIP conditions for the MCES Metropolitan
Wastewater Treatment Plant. The facility now operates three FBRs,
replacing the six multiple hearth sludge incinerators, two new
auxiliary boilers, new alkaline stabilization process equipment, new
sludge centrifuge processing equipment, new ash handling equipment, and
an additional emergency back-up diesel generator.
The facility remains subject to several ongoing SIP conditions, and
some new or more stringent SIP conditions have been added; these
conditions limit PM10 emissions that ensure that the NAAQS
for PM10 are maintained. Conditions for recordkeeping,
performance testing, and reporting of deviations from SIP conditions
have been maintained.
Reduced PM10 Limits
The six multiple hearth incinerators, replaced with three FBRs,
were previously limited to 1.20 pounds of PM10 per ton of
dry sludge charged. Each unit generally charged 90 dry tons of sludge
per day, resulting in total emissions of 19.7 tpy of PM10
per unit, and a total of 118.3 tpy of PM10. The three new
FBRs are each limited to 2.01 pounds of PM10 per hour. If
these units were to operate 8,760 hours in a year, that would result in
8.8 tpy of PM10 per unit or 26.4 tpy for all three FBRs
combined.
The auxiliary boilers were previously each subject to a
PM10 limit of 0.10 pounds of PM10 per million Btu
heat input; this resulted in 5.7 tpy of PM10 per unit. The
replacement boilers are subject to a limit of 15.37 pounds per million
pounds of steam. For these boilers, this equals about 1.23 pounds per
hour per boiler (or 5.4 tpy).
The new alkaline stabilization process and the ash handling system
PM10 emissions are limited to 0.005 grains/dry standard
cubic feet (grains/dscf), respectively. The prior alkaline
stabilization process and ash handling system each had a SIP emission
limit for PM10 of 0.05 grains/dscf.
Overall, the changes noted in this SIP revision do not increase
total PM10 emission limits. Instead, the potential emissions
of PM10 for the MCES Metropolitan Wastewater Treatment
Plant, considering all permit limitations, are reduced from 184.9 tpy
to 47.8 tpy.
Air Quality Analysis
Because some of the changes being made to the facility may affect
the release and dispersion of PM10 emissions, MCES
Metropolitan Wastewater Treatment Plant provided an air quality
analysis to address the facility's impact on the PM10 NAAQS.
All the changes to the facility were completed in 2002. Air quality
modeling was performed in 2001 and 2002 using the ISCST3 dispersion
model. The modeling used five years of surface meteorological data from
the Minneapolis/St. Paul airport and upper air data from St. Cloud,
1987-1991. The model was run with urban dispersion coefficients and
regulatory default options. The high, sixth high 24-hour
PM10 modeled concentration for the MCES Metropolitan
Wastewater Treatment Plant, plus a conservative background
concentration, was 107.1 micrograms per cubic meter ([mu]g/m\3\). This
value is below the 24-hour PM10 standard of 150 [mu]g/m\3\.
The modeled result for the annual standard, including background, was
32.5 [mu]g/m\3\, which was below the annual PM10 standard of
50 [mu]g/m\3\. The annual PM10 standard was revoked in 2006.
IV. What action is EPA taking?
EPA is approving the revision to Minnesota's SIP to replace the
joint Title I/Title V document currently approved into the SIP for MCES
Metropolitan Wastewater Treatment Plant with a new joint Title I/Title
V document, Air Permit No. 12300053-006. The updated information in the
new joint document will incorporate changes to reflect current
operating conditions and the applicable PM10 SIP conditions
for MCES Metropolitan Wastewater Treatment Plant. In approving this
joint Title I/Title V document, EPA is incorporating into the SIP only
those requirements in the joint document labeled as ``Title I
Condition: SIP for PM10 NAAQS.''
Since this SIP revision will decrease PM10 impacts in
the St. Paul area, MCES Metropolitan Wastewater Treatment Plant
revision will strengthen the existing PM10 SIP.
We are publishing this action without prior proposal because we
view this as a noncontroversial amendment and anticipate no 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 state plan if relevant adverse
written comments are filed. This rule will be
[[Page 78605]]
effective February 14, 2011 without further notice unless we receive
relevant adverse written comments by January 18, 2011. If we receive
such comments, we will withdraw this action before the effective date
by publishing a subsequent document that will withdraw the final
action. All public comments received will then be addressed in a
subsequent final rule based on the proposed action. The EPA will not
institute a second comment period. Any parties interested in commenting
on this action should do so at this time. If we do not receive any
comments, this action will be effective February 14, 2011.
V. Statutory and Executive Order Reviews
Under the CAA, the Administrator is required to approve a SIP
submission that complies with the provisions of the Act and applicable
Federal regulations. 42 U.S.C. 7410(k); 40 CFR 52.02(a). Thus, in
reviewing SIP submissions, EPA's role is to approve state choices,
provided that they meet the criteria of the CAA. Accordingly, this
action merely approves state law as meeting Federal requirements and
does not impose additional requirements beyond those imposed by state
law. For that reason, this action:
Is not a ``significant regulatory action'' subject to
review by the Office of Management and Budget under Executive Order
12866 (58 FR 51735, October 4, 1993);
Does not impose an information collection burden under the
provisions of the Paperwork Reduction Act (44 U.S.C. 3501 et seq.);
Is certified as not having a significant economic impact
on a substantial number of small entities under the Regulatory
Flexibility Act (5 U.S.C. 601 et seq.);
Does not contain any unfunded mandate or significantly or
uniquely affect small governments, as described in the Unfunded
Mandates Reform Act of 1995 (Pub. L. 104-4);
Does not have Federalism implications as specified in
Executive Order 13132 (64 FR 43255, August 10, 1999);
Is not an economically significant regulatory action based
on health or safety risks subject to Executive Order 13045 (62 FR
19885, April 23, 1997);
Is not a significant regulatory action subject to
Executive Order 13211 (66 FR 28355, May 22, 2001);
Is not subject to requirements of Section 12(d) of the
National Technology Transfer and Advancement Act of 1995 (15 U.S.C. 272
note) because application of those requirements would be inconsistent
with the CAA; and
Does not provide EPA with the discretionary authority to
address, as appropriate, disproportionate human health or environmental
effects, using practicable and legally permissible methods, under
Executive Order 12898 (59 FR 7629, February 16, 1994).
In addition, this rule does not have tribal implications as
specified by Executive Order 13175 (65 FR 67249, November 9, 2000),
because the SIP is not approved to apply in Indian country located in
the state, and EPA notes that it will not impose substantial direct
costs on tribal governments or preempt tribal law.
The Congressional Review Act, 5 U.S.C. 801 et seq., as added by the
Small Business Regulatory Enforcement Fairness Act of 1996, generally
provides that before a rule may take effect, the agency promulgating
the rule must submit a rule report, which includes a copy of the rule,
to each House of the Congress and to the Comptroller General of the
United States. EPA will submit a report containing this action and
other required information to the U.S. Senate, the U.S. House of
Representatives, and the Comptroller General of the United States prior
to publication of the rule in the Federal Register. A major rule cannot
take effect until 60 days after it is published in the Federal
Register. This action is not a ``major rule'' as defined by 5 U.S.C.
804(2).
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 February 14, 2011. 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).)
List of Subjects in 40 CFR Part 52
Environmental protection, Air pollution control, Incorporation by
reference, Intergovernmental relations, Particulate matter, Reporting
and recordkeeping requirements.
Dated: December 3, 2010.
Susan Hedman,
Regional Administrator, Region 5.
0
40 CFR part 52 is amended as follows:
PART 52--[AMENDED]
0
1. The authority citation for part 52 continues to read as follows:
Authority: 42 U.S.C. 7401 et seq.
Subpart Y--Minnesota
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2. In Sec. 52.1220 the table in paragraph (d) is amended by revising
the entry for ``Metropolitan Council Environmental Services
Metropolitan Wastewater Treatment Plant North Star Steel'' to read as
follows:
Sec. 52.1220 Identification of plan.
* * * * *
(d) * * *
EPA-Approved Minnesota Source-Specific Permits
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State
Name of source Permit No. effective EPA Approval Comments
date date
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* * * * * * *
Metropolitan Council 12300053-006 02/25/10 12/16/10, Only conditions cited as ``Title I
Environmental Services [Insert page condition: SIP for PM10 NAAQS.''
Metropolitan Wastewater number where
Treatment Plant. the document
begins].
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[FR Doc. 2010-31345 Filed 12-15-10; 8:45 am]
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