Approval and Promulgation of Air Quality Implementation Plans; Pennsylvania: Attainment Demonstration and Contingency Measures for the Liberty Borough PM-10 Nonattainment Area

ENVIRONMENTAL PROTECTION AGENCY

40 CFR Part 52

[SIPTRAX PA039/067-4072; FRL-6107-9]

Approval and Promulgation of Air Quality Implementation Plans;

Pennsylvania: Attainment Demonstration and Contingency Measures for the

Liberty Borough PM-10 Nonattainment Area

AGENCY: Environmental Protection Agency (EPA).

ACTION: Proposed rule and withdrawal of proposed rule.

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SUMMARY: EPA is proposing to approve state implementation plan (SIP)

revisions submitted by the Pennsylvania Department of Environmental

Protection (PADEP) consisting of an attainment demonstration and

contingency measures for Allegheny County, Pennsylvania's Liberty

Borough particulate matter nonattainment area. In fact, EPA is

reproposing to approve the attainment demonstration because the

Allegheny County Health Department's (ACHD) modeling analysis

(submitted as a SIP revision by PADEP) adequately demonstrates that the

regulatory portion of the attainment plan is sufficient to attain and

maintain the National Ambient Air Quality Standards (NAAQS) for

particulate matter that was in effect at the time of the submittal, and

because its analyses have been corroborated by monitored air quality

data. EPA is proposing to approve the contingency measures for the area

because they satisfy the requirements of the Clean Air Act (the Act).

EPA approved the regulatory portion of the attainment plan for the

Liberty Borough area as a SIP revision in an earlier rulemaking action.

Because EPA is reproposing approval of the attainment demonstration

portion of the attainment plan for the Liberty Borough area, it is

withdrawing its earlier April 11, 1995 (60 FR 18385) proposal to

approve the County's attainment demonstration. Any interested parties

who would like to comment on EPA's reproposal to approve the attainment

demonstration and its proposal to approve the contingency measures for

the Liberty Borough area should do so at this time by following the

directions below.

Elsewhere in the Proposed Rules section of today's Federal

Register, EPA is also proposing to find that the Liberty Borough area

has attained the NAAQS for particulate matter and is withdrawing an

earlier proposal to find that the area did not attain the NAAQS. In the

Final Rules section of today's Federal Register, EPA is taking direct

final action to approve source-specific control requirements for the

USX Clairton Coke Works which further strengthen the SIP for Liberty

Borough area.

DATES: Comments must be received on or before July 13, 1998.

ADDRESSES: Comments may be mailed to Makeba Morris, Chief, Technical

Assessment Branch, Mailcode 3AP22, U.S. Environmental Protection

Agency, Region III, 841 Chestnut Building, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania

19107. Copies of the documents relevant to this action are available

for public inspection during normal business hours at the Air

Protection Division, U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, Region III,

841 Chestnut Building, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania 19107; the Allegheny

County Health Department, Department of Air Quality, 301 39th Street,

Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania 15201; and Pennsylvania Department of

Environmental Protection, Bureau of Air Quality, P.O. Box 8468, 400

Market Street, Harrisburg, Pennsylvania 17105.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Denis M. Lohman, (215) 566-2192, or by

e-mail at [email protected]. While requests for information

may be made via e-mail, comments for EPA consideration regarding this

proposal must be submitted in writing to the address indicated above.

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:

I. Background

On January 6, 1994, the Pennsylvania Department of Environmental

Protection (PADEP) submitted an attainment plan to EPA on behalf of

Allegheny County for the Liberty Borough PM-10 nonattainment

area.1 (PM-10 is particulate matter smaller than 10 microns

in diameter.) The purpose of this revision to the PADEP's SIP is to

fulfill the requirements under section 189 of the Act for a regulatory

plan to attain the PM-10 NAAQS and to submit a demonstration (including

air quality modeling) that the plan is sufficient to attain this goal.

These ``Part D'' requirements are described in more detail in the

technical support document (TSD) to this rulemaking. Copies of the TSD

are available, upon request, from the EPA Regional office listed in the

ADDRESSES section of this document.

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\1\ The Liberty Borough PM-10 nonattainment area is comprised of

the City of Clairton and the Boroughs of Glassport, Liberty,

Lincoln, and Port Vue.

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On April 11, 1995, EPA proposed to approve the January 1994

attainment plan submittal, as well as two SIP revisions that the

Commonwealth had submitted previously (see 60 FR 18385). The attainment

plan consisted of regulatory requirements to reduce PM-10 emissions and

an attainment demonstration. After EPA proposed to approve the

demonstration, the County reported that the PM-10 NAAQS had been

exceeded twice in March of 1995. These exceedances called the County's

attainment demonstration into question, and, although EPA took final

action 2 to approve the regulatory portion of the attainment

plan (which included limits on a variety of industrial sources), to

make these regulations part of the SIP and federally enforceable, EPA

took no action on the attainment demonstration at that time.

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\2\ See 61 FR 29664.

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On July 12, 1995, PADEP submitted contingency measures to EPA for

the Liberty Borough area. Contingency measures, as required by section

172(c)(9) of the Act, are enforceable emission limitations and/or

emission reduction measures, beyond what was

[[Page 32174]]

required to demonstrate attainment, that must go into effect upon a

finding by EPA that an area has failed to attain the particulate matter

NAAQS.

On July 18, 1997, EPA revised the NAAQS for particulate

matter.3 In this notice, however, ``NAAQS'' and ``PM-10

NAAQS'' refer to the previously existing NAAQS that were in effect at

the time that the attainment plan was required and submitted.

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\3\ See 62 FR 38652.

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II. Statutory, Regulatory and Settlement Requirements

As noted above, areas that became nonattainment for PM-10 by

operation of the Clean Air Act Amendments of 1990 must submit a

demonstration (including air quality modeling) showing that the plan

will provide for attainment of the PM-10 NAAQS as expeditiously as

practicable but no later than December 31, 1994. (See section

189(a)(1)(B) of the Act.) Alternatively, the State may show that

attainment by December 31, 1994 is impracticable. The 24-hour PM-10

NAAQS is 150 micrograms/cubic meter (g/m\3\), and the standard

is attained when the expected number of days per calendar year with a

24-hour average concentration greater than 150 g/m \3\ is

equal to or less than one. The annual PM-10 NAAQS is 50 g/m

\3\, and the standard is attained when the expected annual arithmetic

mean concentration is less than or equal to 50 g/m \3\ (see 40

CFR 50.6). The requirements for approvable attainment demonstrations

are found in 40 CFR 51, Appendix W, the Guideline on Air Quality

Models.

On February 21, 1996, the Group Against Smog and Pollution (GASP),

a citizen's environmental group, sued EPA in order to compel Agency

action on a number of planning activities regarding the Liberty Borough

area. The settlement of this suit requires, among other things, that

EPA to take action on the County's attainment demonstration by March

31, 1998, in light of air quality data collected from 1995 through

1997. The TSD includes a detailed summary of the Settlement Agreement's

provisions.

Section 172(c)(9) of the Act, requires that all moderate

nonattainment area SIPs that demonstrate attainment must include

contingency measures. These measures must take effect without further

regulatory action by the State or EPA, upon a determination by EPA that

the area has failed to make reasonable further progress toward

attainment or has failed to attain the PM-10 NAAQS by the applicable

statutory attainment date. Contingency measures should consist of other

available measures that are not already part of the area's control

strategy, and should contain emission reductions representing

approximately one year or reasonable further progress toward attainment

(see the General Preamble to Title I of the Clean Air Act Amendments of

1990, especially 57 FR 13543-13544).

III. The State Submittals

Allegheny County produced an attainment demonstration for the

Liberty Borough area using air quality modeling. The demonstration

showed that the NAAQS for PM-10 would be attained beginning in 1995 and

maintained in future years. Allegheny County's analysis shows that,

even if all sources emitted at their maximum allowable emission rates,

the 24-hour PM-10 concentration would not exceed 150 g/m \3\

more than once per year.4 Similarly, the demonstration shows

that, in the attainment year, the annual PM-10 concentration will not

exceed the annual PM-10 NAAQS of 50 g/m\3\. No separate

analysis to demonstrate that the PM-10 NAAQS will be maintained in

future years was necessary because the population of the Liberty

Borough is decreasing.

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\4\ This demonstration did not account for the additional

emission reduction requirements on USX Clairton contained in the

SIP-strengthening, ``post-settlement'' SIP revision being approved

in the Final Rules section of today's Federal Register .

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Section 189(e) of the Act requires that all Part D control

requirements applicable to PM-10 (e.g., RACT, new source review) must

also apply to PM-10 precursors. The County's analysis, submitted by

PADEP, demonstrated that while locally emitted sulfur dioxide was a

significant precursor to ambient PM-10, volatile organics and nitrogen

oxides were not. Therefore, according to the County's analysis, the PM-

10 control requirements, pursuant to Part D section 189(e) of the Act,

should apply to sulfur dioxide but not to volatile organics or nitrogen

oxides. EPA is reproposing to approve Allegheny County's attainment

demonstration for the Liberty Borough area, submitted by PADEP, because

the demonstration is technically sound and comports with 40 CFR Part

51, Appendix W (the Guideline on Air Quality Models). In addition, the

most recent three full years of air quality data indicate that the area

is attaining the NAAQS. The TSD for this proposal provides a detailed

description of EPA's rationale for proposing to approving the County's

attainment demonstration for the Liberty Borough area. For additional

information, see EPA's April 11, 1995 proposed approval (60 FR 18385).

The TSD for that proposal is also available upon request from the EPA

Regional Office listed in the ADDRESSES section, above.

The County's contingency measures, submitted by PADEP, consist of

an amendment to section 2105.21.e of Article XXI. It requires that

within 30 days following a notice by the ACHD that EPA has made a

finding that the area has not attained the NAAQS, USX's Clairton Coke

Works (the largest source of PM-10 in the nonattainment area) shall

improve procedures to capture pushing emissions by holding hot coke

under the hood of the pushing emissions control device for at least 67

seconds immediately after the pusher ram begins to move and the damper

to the PEC device is opened, or for at least 15 seconds immediately

following the fall of the last coke into the coke car, whichever is

longer. This provision is applicable to all USX-Clairton batteries

except Battery B (which is equipped with a coke-side shed). EPA is

proposing to approve this submittal because it fulfills the

requirements of section 172(c)(9), as described above.

IV. Proposed Action

EPA is reproposing to approve the attainment demonstration portion

of the attainment plan for the Liberty Borough PM-10 nonattainment

area. EPA is also proposing to find that the PM-10 precursor

requirements of 189(e) of the Act do not apply to volatile organic

compounds or to nitrogen oxides and that they do apply for sulfur

dioxide. In addition, EPA is proposing to approve the July 12, 1995

contingency measures submittal for the area. EPA is withdrawing its

prior April 11, 1995 proposal to approve the County's attainment

demonstration for the Liberty Borough area, because three years of air

quality data are now available to corroborate the County's

demonstration, and this data provides further information not available

at the time of the 1995 proposal.

Nothing in this proposal 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 authority.

V. Administrative Requirements

A. Executive Order 12866

The Office of Management and Budget (OMB) has exempted this

regulatory action from E.O. 12866 review.

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B. Executive Order 13045

The proposed rule is not subject to E.O. 13045, entitled

``Protection of Children from Environmental Health Risks and Safety

Risks,'' because it is not an ``economically significant'' action under

E.O. 12866.

C. Regulatory Flexibility Act

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

SIP approvals under section 110 and subchapter I, part D of the

Clean Air Act do not create any new requirements but simply approve

requirements that the State is already imposing. Therefore, because the

Federal SIP approval does not impose any new requirements, the

Administrator certifies that it does not have a significant impact on

any small entities affected. Moreover, due to the nature of the

Federal-State relationship under the CAA, preparation of a flexibility

analysis would constitute Federal inquiry into the economic

reasonableness of state action. The Clean Air Act forbids EPA to base

its actions concerning SIPs on such grounds. Union Electric Co. v. U.S.

EPA, 427 U.S. 246, 255-66 (1976); 42 U.S.C. 7410(a)(2).

D. Unfunded Mandates

Under section 202 of the Unfunded Mandates Reform Act of 1995

(``Unfunded Mandates Act''), signed into law on March 22, 1995, EPA

must prepare a budgetary impact statement to accompany any proposed or

final rule that includes a Federal mandate that may result in estimated

costs to State, local, or tribal governments in the aggregate; or to

private sector, of $100 million or more. Under section 205, EPA must

select the most cost-effective and least burdensome alternative that

achieves the objectives of the rule and is consistent with statutory

requirements. Section 203 requires EPA to establish a plan for

informing and advising any small governments that may be significantly

or uniquely impacted by the rule.

EPA has determined that the approval action being proposed does not

include a Federal mandate that may result in estimated costs of $100

million or more to either State, local, or tribal governments in the

aggregate, or to the private sector. This Federal action approves pre-

existing requirements under State or local law, and imposes no new

requirements. Accordingly, no additional costs to State, local, or

tribal governments, or to the private sector, result from this action.

The Administrator's decision to approve or disapprove this SIP

revision for the Liberty Borough PM-10 nonattainment area revision will

be based on whether it meets the requirements of section 110(a)(2)(A)-

(K) and part D of the Clean Air Act, as amended, and EPA regulations in

40 CFR part 51.

List of Subjects in 40 CFR Part 52

Environmental protection, Air pollution control, Hydrocarbons,

Nitrogen dioxide, particulate matter, Sulfur oxide.

Authority: 42 U.S.C. 7401 et seq.

Dated: May 28, 1998.

W. Michael McCabe,

Regional Administrator, Region III.

[FR Doc. 98-15582 Filed 6-11-98; 8:45 am]

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