Approval and Promulgation of Implementation Plans; State of Missouri

ENVIRONMENTAL PROTECTION AGENCY

40 CFR Part 52

[MO-028-1028; FRL-5875-7]

Approval and Promulgation of Implementation Plans; State of

Missouri

AGENCY: Environmental Protection Agency (EPA).

ACTION: Final notice of the Herculaneum, Missouri, nonattainment area's

failure to attain the National Ambient Air Quality Standard (NAAQS) for

lead.

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SUMMARY: Pursuant to the Clean Air Act (CAA or the Act), the EPA has

notified the state of Missouri that the Doe Run-Herculaneum

nonattainment area failed to attain the NAAQS for lead (Pb) by June 30,

1995, as required under the provisions of the Act and the Missouri

State Implementation Plan (SIP). This notification is based on the

EPA's review of monitored air quality data for compliance with the

NAAQS for lead. This notice is issued pursuant to the EPA's obligations

under sections 179(c) (1) and (2) of the CAA, which require the EPA to

make a determination of an area's attainment status following an

applicable attainment date, and publish a notice in the Federal

Register indicating that such a determination has been made. Pursuant

to section 179(d)(1) of the CAA, Missouri is required to submit a SIP

revision, meeting the applicable provisions of the Act within one year

of today's finding.

DATES: This action is effective on September 15, 1997.

ADDRESSES: Copies of the documents relevant to this action are

available for public inspection during normal business hours at the:

Environmental Protection Agency, Air Planning and Development Branch,

726 Minnesota Avenue, Kansas City, Kansas 66101.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Royan W. Teter at (913) 551-7609.

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:

I. Background

The EPA designated the area in the vicinity of the Doe Run

Company's primary lead smelter in Herculaneum, Missouri, nonattainment

with respect to the NAAQS for lead on November 6, 1991 (56 FR 56694).

This designation became effective on January 6, 1992. Missouri

initially submitted a SIP revision addressing the nonattainment

designation in July 1993. Supplements were submitted in March and

November 1994. The EPA approved Missouri's revised SIP on May 5, 1995

(60 FR 22274), establishing June 30, 1995, as the date by which the

area was to have attained the NAAQS for lead. Ambient air monitoring

data, as shown below, indicate that violations of the lead NAAQS have

continued to occur in each calendar quarter subsequent to the

attainment date. On March 5, 1997, the EPA published a proposed notice

of failure to attain the NAAQS for the Herculaneum, Missouri,

nonattainment area (62 FR 10001). The proposed notice detailed the

responsibilities of the EPA and the state of Missouri under the CAA and

provided the public with an opportunity to comment on the Agency's

determination that the Herculaneum area has failed to attain the

standard.

Lead Ambient Air Quality Data--Vicinity Of The DOE Run Primary Smelter

Calendar Quarterly Values

(Micrograms of lead per cubic meter of air (g/m\3\))

[[Page 43648]]

HI--VOL Monitor Locations

Dunklin 29- Dunklin 29- Golf Course North 29- Ursaline 29- Rutz 29-099- Div. Manager Broad Street

Date 099-0014 099-0005 29-099-0008 099-0009 099-0010 0011 29-099-0013 29-099-0015

S H H H H H H H

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1995:

3rd................................. 1.4 1.2 0.3 0.3 0.2 1.0 1.2 4.1

4th................................. 1.9 1.7 0.4 0.8 0.1 1.6 1.3 6.3

1996:

1st................................. 2.3 1.9 0.3 0.4 0.1 1.4 .8 2.3

2nd................................. 1.6 1.2 0.5 0.1 0.2 2.4 0.8 5.7

3rd................................. 0.8 0.6 0.1 0.2 0.3 0.7 0.5 4.0

4th................................. 1.7 1.8 0.1 0.5 0.3 1.4 0.9 1.6

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Notes:

\1\ (S) = State monitor, (H) = Asarco monitor.

\2\ Italicized Quarterly Air Quality Values exceed the National Ambient Air Quality Standard (NAAQS) for lead; the NAAQS for lead is 1.5 g/m\3\

and is the arithmetic mean of a series of daily (24-hour) values from hi-vol monitors measuring particulate matter, within a 3-month (calendar

quarter) period.

II. Response To Comments

The EPA received 334 letters regarding the Doe Run Company and its

Herculaneum, Missouri, operations. Those submitting comments included

25 businesses, 108 members of The Doe Run Company's mining and milling

division, and 201 other Doe Run employees. None of the comments

pertained specifically to the EPA's determination that the Herculaneum

nonattainment area failed to attain the NAAQS for lead by the

prescribed date, as discussed in the March 5, 1997, proposed action.

Nevertheless, the EPA believes it is appropriate to outline the major

themes discussed by those who submitted comments and provide a

response.

Comments: All commentors expressed support for the Doe Run Company

and encouraged the EPA to work cooperatively with the Company to

address the air quality issues within the nonattainment area. Three

distinct rationales were presented. One group of commentors cited the

Company's success in reducing toxic chemical releases to the

environment while participating in the EPA's 33/50 Program. Another

group of commentors cited recent expenditures totaling $900,000 as

evidence of the Company's desire to fulfill the corporate philosophy to

``Make it better tomorrow than it is today.'' A third group

acknowledged Doe Run as an important contributor to the economies of

the state and the nation, and expressed concern over any actions that

the EPA might take that could place the company at an economic

disadvantage and jeopardize the company's survival.

Response: The EPA will work cooperatively with the Doe Run Company

and the Missouri Department of Natural Resources to develop a SIP that

meets the requirements of the CAA. The EPA is an active participant in

discussions related to the development of an appropriate emissions

control strategy. Recent discussions have yielded positive results.

Some data collection activities are already underway and a framework

has been developed for future activities. These activities will

facilitate a better understanding of the sources of emissions that are

contributing to violations of the NAAQS.

The Doe Run Company's success in the 33/50 Program and its latest

efforts to reduce lead emissions from the Herculaneum smelter are

commendable actions; however, ambient lead concentrations in the

vicinity of the smelter remain above the levels which are protective of

public health and welfare. As such, the EPA is mandated by the CAA to

publish a notice in the Federal Register, indicating the area's failure

to attain the standard. The Act then requires that within one year,

Missouri revise its SIP to address the violations of the air quality

standard.

[[Page 43649]]

One group of commentors expressed concerns that the EPA's actions

may jeopardize the economic future of the Doe Run Company. While cost

will be a factor in determining the final control plan, it is important

to understand that the EPA's determination regarding the Herculaneum

area's failure to attain the NAAQS for lead involves only a factual

finding based on air quality measurements. This determination does not

impose any specific requirements or limitations on the Doe Run Company.

Any such requirements will be specified in Missouri's SIP.

III. Final action

Today's action finalizes the EPA's determination that the

Herculaneum, Missouri, nonattainment area did not attain the NAAQS for

lead by June 30, 1990, as prescribed by CAA and Missouri's SIP. This

action invokes section 179(d) of the CAA which, under the

circumstances, requires Missouri to submit a SIP revision meeting the

implementation and nonattainment plan provisions of the Act, and any

additional measures which may be reasonably prescribed in order to

bring the area into attainment with the NAAQS. This SIP revision must

be submitted within one year of today's action.

Nothing in this action should be construed as permitting or

allowing or establishing a precedent for any future request for

revision to any SIP. Each request for revision to the SIP shall be

considered separately in light of specific technical, economic, and

environmental factors, and in relation to relevant statutory and

regulatory requirements.

IV. Administrative Requirements

A. Executive Order (EO) 12866

Under E.O. 12866, 58 FR 51735 (October 4, 1993), the EPA is

required to determine whether regulatory actions are significant and

therefore should be subject to the Office of Management and Budget

review, economic analysis, and the requirements of the Executive Order.

The Executive Order defines a ``significant regulatory action'' as one

that is likely to result in a rule that may meet at least one of the

four criteria identified in section 3(f), including, under paragraph

(1), that the rule may ``have an annual effect on the economy of $100

million or more or adversely affect, in a material way, the economy, a

sector of the economy, productivity, competition, jobs, the

environment, public health or safety, or state, local, or tribal

governments or communities.''

The Agency has determined that today's action does not result in

any of the effects identified in 3(f). Under sections 179(c) and

179(c)(2), a determination that an area has failed to attain the NAAQS

for lead and the call for revision of the relevant SIP are based upon

air quality considerations and must occur by operation of law in light

of certain air quality conditions. They do not, in-and-of-themselves,

impose any new requirements on any sectors of the economy.

B. Regulatory Flexibility

Under the Regulatory Flexibility Act, 5 U.S.C. 600 et seq., the EPA

must prepare a regulatory flexibility analysis assessing the impact of

any proposed or final rule on small entities (5 U.S.C. 603 and 604).

Alternatively, the EPA may certify that the rule will not have a

significant impact on a substantial number of small entities. Small

entities include small businesses, small not-for-profit enterprises,

and government entities with jurisdiction over populations of less than

50,000.

As previously discussed, a determination that an area has failed to

attain the lead NAAQS and its associated SIP call, do not in-an-of-

themselves create any new requirements. Therefore, I certify that

today's final action does not have a significant impact on small

entities.

C. Unfunded Mandates

Under sections 202, 203, and 205 of the Unfunded Mandates Reform

Act of 1995 (Unfunded Mandates Act), signed into law on March 22, 1995,

the EPA must assess whether various actions undertaken in association

with proposed or final regulations include a Federal mandate that may

result in estimated costs of $100 million or more to the private

sector, or to state, local or tribal governments in the aggregate.

The EPA believes, as discussed above, that its determination that

the Herculaneum, Missouri, area has failed to attain the NAAQS for lead

is a factual determination based upon air quality considerations and

must occur by operation of law and, hence, does not impose any Federal

intergovernmental mandate, as defined in section 101 of the Unfunded

Mandates Act.

D. Small Business Regulatory Fairness Act (SBREFA)

Under 5 U.S.C. 801(a)(1)(A) as added by the Small Business

Regulatory

[[Page 43650]]

Enforcement Fairness Act of 1996, the EPA submitted a report containing

this rule and other required information to the U.S. Senate, the U.S.

House of Representatives, and the Comptroller General of the General

Accounting Office prior to publication of this rule in today's Federal

Register. This rule is not a ``major rule'' as defined by 5 U.S.C.

804(2).

E. Petitions for Judicial Review

Under section 307(b)(1) of the CAA, petitions for judicial review

of this action must be filed in the United States Court of Appeals for

the appropriate circuit by October 14, 1997. Filing a petition for

reconsideration by the Administrator of this final rule does not affect

the finality of this rule 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, Carbon monoxide,

Hydrocarbons, Incorporation by reference, Intergovernmental relations,

Lead, Nitrogen dioxide, Ozone, Particulate matter, Reporting and

recordkeeping requirements, Sulfur oxides, Volatile organic compounds.

Authority: 42 U.S.C. 7401-7671q.

Dated: August 4, 1997.

Michael J. Sanderson,

Acting Regional Administrator.

[FR Doc. 97-21702 Filed 8-14-97; 8:45 am]

BILLING CODE 6560-50-P