Clean Air Act Operating Permit Program; Petition for Objection to State Operating Permit for Maui Electric Company, Limited for the Maalaea Generating Station Units M17 & M19 (Hawaii CSP No. 0067-01-C) at Maalaea, Maui, Hawaii

ENVIRONMENTAL PROTECTION AGENCY

[FRL-6432-5]

Clean Air Act Operating Permit Program; Petition for Objection to

State Operating Permit for Maui Electric Company, Limited for the

Maalaea Generating Station Units M17 & M19 (Hawaii CSP No. 0067-01-C)

at Maalaea, Maui, Hawaii

AGENCY: Environmental Protection Agency (EPA), Region 9.

ACTION: Notice of final order on petition to object to state operating

permit.

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SUMMARY: Pursuant to Clean Air Act Section 505(b)(2) and 40 CFR

70.8(d), the EPA Administrator is hereby denying a petition to object

to a state operating permit issued by the Hawaii Department of Health

to Maui Electric Company, Limited for the Maalaea Generating Station

Units M17 & M19 at Maalaea, Maui, Hawaii. This order constitutes final

action on the petition submitted by Kawaihae Cogeneration Partners

(KCP). Pursuant to Section 505(b)(2) of the Clean Air Act (``Act''),

petitioner may seek judicial review in the United States Court of

Appeals for the appropriate circuit within 60 days of this decision

under section 307 of the Act.

ADDRESSES: Copies of the final order, the petition and all pertinent

information relating thereto are on file at the following location:

Environmental Protection Agency, Region IX, Air Division, 75 Hawthorne

Street, San Francisco, California, 94105. The final order is also

available electronically at the following address: http://www.epa.gov/

ttn/nsr/poly__gui.html.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Robert Baker (AIR-3), U.S.

Environmental Protection Agency, Region 9, Telephone (415) 744-1258, E-

mail Baker.R[email protected]. Interested parties may also contact the

Hawaii Department of Health, Clean Air Branch, 919 Ala Moana Blvd.--

Room 203, Honolulu, Hawaii 96814.

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: The Clean Air Act affords EPA the

opportunity for a 45-day period to review, and object to as

appropriate, operating permits proposed by State permitting

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authorities. Section 505(b)(2) of the Act authorizes any person to

petition the EPA Administrator within 60 days after the expiration of

this review period to object to State operating permits if EPA has not

done so. Petitions must be based only on objections to the permit that

were raised with reasonable specificity during the public comment

period provided by the State, unless the petitioner demonstrates that

it was impracticable to raise these issues during the comment period or

the grounds for the issues arose after this period.

Kawaihae Cogeneration Partners (KCP) submitted a petition to the

Administrator on February 17, 1998, seeking EPA's objection to the PSD/

Covered Source Permit issued to Maui Electric Company (MECO) for the

construction and operation of two 20 megawatt combustion turbine

generators at MECO's Maalaea Generating Station at Maalaea, Maui,

Hawaii. KCP's petition alleges that the Covered Source Permit's

requirement of water injection and low sulfur fuel oil is not BACT for

oxides of nitrogen and sulfur dioxide. The order denying this petition

explains the reasons behind EPA's conclusion that the petitioner has

failed to demonstrate that the Maui Electric permit is not in

compliance with the requirements of the Clean Air Act.

Dated: August 22, 1999.

Nora L. McGee,

Acting Regional Administrator, Region 9.

[FR Doc. 99-22931 Filed 9-1-99; 8:45 am]

BILLING CODE 6560-50-P