National Emission Standards for Hazardous Air Pollutants: Revision of Schedule for Standards Under Section 112 of the Clean Air Act

ENVIRONMENTAL PROTECTION AGENCY

[AD-FRL-6343-6]

RIN 2060-AI52

National Emission Standards for Hazardous Air Pollutants:

Revision of Schedule for Standards Under Section 112 of the Clean Air

Act

AGENCY: Environmental Protection Agency (EPA).

ACTION: Notice of revisions to promulgation schedule for standards.

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SUMMARY: This notice publishes revisions to the schedule for the

promulgation of standards for sources of hazardous air pollutants

(HAP). Required under section 112(c) and (e) of the Clean Air Act

(CAA), the source category list and the schedule for standards

constitute a significant part of the EPA's agenda for regulating

stationary sources of air toxic emissions.

The schedule for standards, required under CAA section 112(e),

organized the source categories into groups of four separate timeframes

with promulgation deadlines of November 15, 1992; November 15, 1994;

November 15, 1997; and November 15, 2000. The EPA refers to these

groups of four separate timeframes as 2-year, 4-year, 7-year, and 10-

year bins, respectively. Today's notice announces a scheduling change

for two source categories from the 7-year bin to the 10-year bin and

two source categories from the 10-year bin to the 7-year bin. In

addition, this notice corrects the schedule for a source category

recently added to the list.

EFFECTIVE DATE: May 17, 1999.

ADDRESSES: Docket No. A-90-49, containing supporting information used

in development of this notice, is available for public inspection and

copying between 8 a.m. and 5:30 p.m., Monday through Friday, excluding

legal holidays. The docket is located in the EPA's Air and Radiation

Docket and Information Center, Waterside Mall, Room M-1500, 401 M

Street, SW, Washington, DC 20460, or by calling (202) 260-7548. A

reasonable fee may be charged for copying docket materials.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: For information concerning this

notice, contact Ms. Maria Noell, Emissions Standards Division (MD-13),

U.S. EPA, Office of Air Quality Planning and Standards, Research

Triangle Park, North Carolina 27711, telephone number (919) 541-5607,

facsimile number (919) 541-3470, electronic mail address

``[email protected]''.

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:

I. What Is the History of the Source Category List and Schedule?

The CAA amendments of 1990 (Public Law 101-549) require, under

section 112, that the Agency list categories of sources emitting HAP

and promulgate national emission standards for HAP (NESHAP) in order to

control, reduce, or otherwise limit the emissions of HAP from such

categories of major and area sources. Pursuant to the various specific

listing requirements in section 112(c), we published on July 16, 1992

(57 FR 31576), a list of 174 categories of major and area sources--

referred to as the ``initial list''--for which we would develop

emission standards. Following this listing, pursuant to requirements in

section 112(e), on December 3, 1993 (58 FR 63941), we published a

schedule for the promulgation of emission standards for each of the 174

listed source categories.

When we publish notices that affect actions relating to individual

source categories, it is important to reflect the resultant changes on

the list and schedule. On June 4, 1996 (61 FR 28197), we published a

notice that referenced all previous listing and schedule changes and

consolidated those actions, along with several new actions, into a

revised source category list and schedule. We published a subsequent

notice on February 12, 1998 (63 FR 7155), which again updated the list

and schedule. You should read these previous notices for information

relating to development of the initial list and schedule.

II. Why Is EPA Issuing This Notice?

This notice announces scheduling changes for promulgating

standards. This action moves two source categories from the 7-year bin

to the 10-year bin:

Petroleum Refineries--Catalytic Cracking (Fluid and Other)

Units, Catalytic Reforming Units, and Sulfur Plant Units; and

Primary Copper Smelting.

Also, to ensure that we still meet the CAA section 112(e)(1)

scheduling requirements, we are countering these scheduling changes by

moving two source categories forward to the 7-year bin:

Hydrogen Fluoride Production; and

Butadiene-Furfural Cotrimer (R-11) Production.

Additionally, this notice announces one other scheduling change. We

are correcting the promulgation deadline for the Natural Gas

Transmission and Storage source category, which we added to the

original source category list, from November 15, 1997 to November 15,

2000.

III. What Revisions Is EPA Making to the Source Category Schedule?

The following sections describe the new revisions to the source

category schedule since the February 12, 1998 publication.

A. Corrections to Previous Notice

The Administrator may at any time add categories and subcategories

of HAP to the original source category list based on the same criteria

used to develop the original list. Section 112(c)(5) states that the

Administrator shall promulgate standards to regulate HAP emissions from

these added categories and subcategories within 10 years after

enactment of the CAA amendments of 1990 (i.e., by November 15, 2000,

the 10-year bin date) or within 2 years after the date on which the

category or subcategory was listed, whichever is later.

This Federal Register notice announces one scheduling change to

correct the regulatory promulgation date for the Natural Gas

Transmission and Storage source category. In our last notice regarding

changes to the source category list, on February 12, 1998, we

incorrectly indicated that this category was a subset of the Oil and

Natural Gas Production source category. Consequently, we did not

consider it to be subject to the scheduling requirements of section

112(c)(5), and we placed it in the same regulatory bin as the Oil and

Natural Gas Production source category (i.e., the 7-year bin). However,

in a February 6, 1998 Federal Register notice of proposed maximum

achievable control technology (MACT) standards for the Oil and Natural

Gas Production and the Natural Gas Transmission and Storage source

categories (63 FR 6287), we had amended the source category list to add

Natural Gas Transmission and Storage

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as a separate source category, distinct from the originally listed Oil

and Natural Gas Production source category. As such, the Natural Gas

Transmission and Storage source category is subject to the scheduling

requirements of section 112(c)(5). Therefore, in this notice, we are

correcting the promulgation deadline for the Natural Gas Transmission

and Storage source category from November 15, 1997 to November 15,

2000.

B. Moving Standards Promulgation Deadlines for Source Categories

In the December 3, 1993 notice, we scheduled the initially listed

source categories for regulation such that exactly 50 percent (87 out

of 174) would be promulgated by November 15, 1997. Consequently, in

order to continue to satisfy the numerical and temporal requirements of

section 112(e)(1), any change that would delay the deadline for a

source category scheduled for regulation by November 15, 1997 must be

offset by a corresponding shifting of a source category from the

November 15, 2000 regulatory timeframe forward to the November 15, 1997

timeframe.

1. Primary Copper Smelting and Hydrogen Fluoride Production

The schedule for Primary Copper Smelting, which we included in the

initial source category schedule in December 1993, is being changed

from November 15, 1997 to November 15, 2000. The schedule for Hydrogen

Fluoride Production, published in the same notice (58 FR 63941,

December 3, 1993), is being changed from November 15, 2000 to November

15, 1997. Moving Primary Copper Smelting to the 10-year bin will allow

us additional time to address issues raised by comments received on the

April 20, 1998 proposal (63 FR 19581).

Because we included the standard for Hydrogen Fluoride Production

as part of the Generic MACT proposal, published October 14, 1998 (63 FR

55177), it will be ahead of its initial regulatory deadline and,

therefore, can be used in place of the Primary Copper Smelting source

category in order to address the statutory requirement of completion of

50 percent of the initially listed source categories by November 15,

1997.

2. Petroleum Refineries--Catalytic Cracking (Fluid and Other) Units,

Catalytic Reforming Units, and Sulfur Plant Units and Butadiene-

Furfural Cotrimer (R-11) Production

This notice also announces the change of schedules for the

Petroleum Refineries--Catalytic Cracking (Fluid and Other) Units,

Catalytic Reforming Units, and Sulfur Plant Units source category and

the Butadiene-Furfural Cotrimer (R-11) Production source category. The

schedule for Petroleum Refineries--Catalytic Cracking (Fluid and Other)

Units, Catalytic Reforming Units, and Sulfur Plant Units, which we

included in the initial source category schedule in December 1993, is

being changed from November 15, 1997 to November 15, 2000. The schedule

for Butadiene-Furfural Cotrimer (R-11) Production, published in the

same notice (58 FR 63941, December 3, 1993), is being changed from

November 15, 2000 to November 15, 1997.

The Office of Mobile Sources will soon be proposing standards that

will limit the amount of sulfur in gasoline. Some petroleum refineries

may comply with the gasoline sulfur standards by removing both sulfur

and metals from the feed to the Catalytic Cracking Units (CCU), and

thereby reduce metallic HAP emissions from the CCU regeneration vent.

We have moved the Petroleum Refineries--Catalytic Cracking (Fluid and

Other) Units, Catalytic Reforming Units, and Sulfur Plant Units source

category to the 10-year bin to gain understanding of the effects of the

gasoline sulfur standards on refineries, decide how our final MACT rule

should address these effects, and coordinate the implementation and

compliance aspects of the MACT rule with the schedule for

implementation of the gasoline sulfur program.

Because we addressed the Butadiene-Furfural Cotrimer (R-11)

Production source category in the Pesticide Active Ingredient

Production proposal (62 FR 60565, November 10, 1997), this source

category will be ahead of its initial regulatory deadline of November

15, 2000 and, therefore, can be used in place of the Petroleum

Refineries--Catalytic Cracking (Fluid and Other) Units, Catalytic

Reforming Units, Sulfur Plant Units source category.

IV. Is This Action Subject to Judicial Review?

Section 112(e)(3) states that the determination of priorities for

promulgation of standards for the listed source categories is not a

rulemaking and is not subject to judicial review, except that, failure

to promulgate any standard pursuant to the schedule established under

section 112(e) shall be subject to review under section 304 of the CAA.

Section 112(e)(4) states that, notwithstanding section 307 of the Act,

no action of the Administrator listing a source category or subcategory

under section 112(c) shall be a final Agency action subject to judicial

review, except that any such action may be reviewed under section 307

when the Administrator issues emission standards for such pollutant or

category. Therefore, today's schedule is not subject to judicial

review.

V. Is EPA Asking for Public Comment?

Prior to issuance of the initial source category list, we published

a draft initial list for public comment (56 FR 28548, June 21, 1991).

Although we were not required to take public comment on the initial

source category list, we believed it was useful to solicit input on a

number of issues related to the list. Indeed, in most instances, even

where there is no statutory requirement to take comment, we solicit

public comments on actions we are contemplating. We have decided,

however, that it is unnecessary to solicit additional public comment on

the revisions reflected in today's notice. Interested parties will have

the opportunity to provide comments on individual emissions standards.

VI. Administrative Requirements

A. Docket

The docket for this action is A-90-49. The docket is an organized

and complete file of all the information submitted to or otherwise

considered by the Agency in the development of this revised list of

categories of sources and revised schedule for standards. The principal

purpose of this docket is to allow interested parties to identify and

locate documents that serve as a record of the process engaged in by

the Agency to publish today's revision to the initial list and

schedule. The docket is available for public inspection at the EPA's

Air and Radiation Docket and Information Center, which is listed in the

ADDRESSES section of this notice.

B. Regulatory Requirements

1. General

Today's notice is not a rule; it is essentially an information

sharing activity which does not impose regulatory requirements or

costs. Therefore, the requirements of Executive Order 13045 (Protection

of Children from Environmental Health Risks and Safety Risks),

Executive Order 13084 (Consultation and Coordination with Indian Tribal

Governments), Executive Order 12875 (Enhancing the Intergovernmental

Partnership), the Regulatory Flexibility Act, the National Technology

Transfer and Advancement Act, and the Unfunded Mandates Reform Act do

not apply to today's notice. Also, this notice does not contain any

information collection requirements and, therefore, is not

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subject to the Paperwork Reduction Act, 44 U.S.C. 3501 et seq.

2. Executive Order 12866 and Office of Management and Budget (OMB)

Review

Under Executive Order 12866 (58 FR 51735, October 4, 1993), the

Agency must determine whether a regulatory action is ``significant''

and, therefore, subject to OMB review and the requirements of the

Executive Order. The Order defines ``significant'' regulatory action as

one that is likely to lead to a rule that may either (1) have an annual

effect on the economy of $100 million or more, or adversely affect a

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

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

governments or communities; (2) create a serious inconsistency or

otherwise interfere with an action taken or planned by another agency;

(3) materially alter the budgetary impact of entitlements, grants, user

fees, or loan programs or the rights and obligations of recipients

thereof; or (4) raise novel legal or policy issues arising out of legal

mandates, the President's priorities, or the principles set forth in

the Executive Order.

Pursuant to the terms of Executive Order 12866, today's notice is

considered a ``significant regulatory action'' within the meaning of

the Executive Order. For this reason, this action underwent review by

the OMB.

Dated: May 10, 1999.

Robert D. Brenner,

Acting Assistant Administrator for Air and Radiation.

[FR Doc. 99-12370 Filed 5-14-99; 8:45 am]

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