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AGENCY:
Environmental Protection Agency (EPA).
ACTION:
Final rule.
SUMMARY:
The Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) is approving a portion of the state implementation plan (SIP) revisions submitted by the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania. The revisions being approved adopt nitrogen oxides (NOX) emission limits and requirements for the coal-fired electric generating units (EGUs) equipped with selective catalytic reduction (SCR) at the Keystone, Conemaugh, Homer City, and Montour facilities. The NOX limits address reasonably available control technology (RACT) requirements for these EGUs for the 1997 and 2008 ozone national ambient air quality standards (NAAQS) and address the deficiencies identified in EPA's August 16, 2022, disapproval of an earlier SIP submission. This action is being taken under the Clean Air Act (CAA).
DATES:
This final rule is effective on December 6, 2024.
ADDRESSES:
EPA has established a docket for this action under Docket ID Number EPA-R03-OAR-2024-0302. All documents in the docket are listed on the www.regulations.gov website. Although listed in the index, some information is not publicly available, e.g., confidential business information (CBI) or other information whose disclosure is restricted by statute. Certain other material, such as copyrighted material, is not placed on the internet and will be publicly available only in hard copy form. Publicly available docket materials are available through www.regulations.gov, or please contact the person identified in the FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT section for additional availability information.
FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT:
Sean Silverman, Planning & Implementation Branch (3AD30), Air & Radiation Division, U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, Region III, 1600 John F Kennedy Boulevard, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania 19103. The telephone number is (215) 814-5511. Mr. Silverman can also be reached via electronic mail at silverman.sean@epa.gov.
SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:
I. Background
On August 16, 2022, (87 FR 50257) EPA took final action to disapprove portions of a Pennsylvania SIP revision submitted May 16, 2016 that, among other things, established NOX emission limitations for the coal-fired EGUs equipped with SCR at the Keystone, Conemaugh, Homer City, and Montour facilities, to satisfy certain RACT obligations for the 1997 and 2008 ozone NAAQS. EPA's August 16, 2022, final disapproval started a sanctions clock under CAA section 179 and 40 CFR 52.31. The two-to-one new source emissions offset sanction took effect on March 15, 2024 (18 months following the September 15, 2022, effective date of the August 16, 2022, disapproval, 87 FR 50257). Highway funding sanctions would have taken effect September 15, 2024, unless the state submitted, and EPA approved, SIP revisions correcting the deficiencies identified in the August 16, 2022, disapproval action.
A more detailed and complete summary of the history of the RACT limits for these EGUs can be found in the Notice of Proposed Rulemaking for this final action. 89 FR 56680 (July 10, 2024).
On August 31, 2022, EPA issued a Federal implementation plan (FIP) adopting NOX RACT limits for these four sources addressing these same RACT obligations. 87 FR 53381. Three of the sources subject to the FIP filed a challenge to the FIP in the U.S. Third Circuit Court of Appeals. Keystone-Conemaugh Projects LLC v. EPA, et al., No. 22-3026. Following briefing and oral argument, on May 2, 2024, the Third Circuit issued a decision upholding the RACT limits and other requirements in EPA's August 31, 2022, FIP. The court decided and resolved all issues raised by the Petitioners in EPA's favor. Id.
On April 10, 2024, Pennsylvania Department of Environmental Protection (PADEP) submitted two SIP revisions to EPA which adopted into the SIP the NOX limits and other requirements found in EPA's final August 31, 2022, FIP for Keystone, Conemaugh, Homer City, and Montour (Montour was submitted separately). On July 10, 2024, EPA published a notice of proposed rulemaking (NPRM) proposing to approve Pennsylvania's April 10, 2024, SIP revisions (89 FR 56680). EPA's NPRM also proposed to find that the incorporation of title V permits containing the FIP requirements into Pennsylvania's SIP addressed the deficiencies identified in EPA's August 16, 2022 (87 FR 50257), partial disapproval. The reasons for the proposed approval and the determination were stated in the proposal for this action and will not be restated here. Based on this finding and the proposed approval, EPA simultaneously issued an Interim Final Determination (IFD) staying the application of the offset sanction and deferring the application of the highway sanction triggered by EPA's August 16, 2022 (87 FR 50257) disapproval. 89 FR 56666 (July 10, 2024). EPA's proposed action noted that it was not taking action at this time on certain RACT limits for auxiliary boilers which were included in the SIP revisions, and therefore this final action does not address those RACT limits for the identified auxiliary boilers.
The public comment period for the proposed approval and determination ended on August 9, 2024. EPA received three comments, which can be found in the docket. One of the comments is not relevant to this action and will not be addressed. The other two were supportive, but one generally supportive comment also contained comments which could be considered adverse. Those potentially adverse comments are addressed below.
II. Summary of SIP Revision and EPA Analysis
Pennsylvania's SIP submissions, dated April 9, 2024, and received by EPA on April 10, 2024, included four redacted title V permits incorporating the FIP requirements for the EGUs equipped with SCR at Keystone, Conemaugh, Homer City, and Montour. EPA has reviewed these permits and determined that the permits incorporate the same emission limits, monitoring, testing, recordkeeping, reporting, work practices and other requirements for these EGUs found in EPA's FIP. The permits are listed in Table 1 in this document. These submissions and permits are part of the docket for this rule making and are available online at www.regulations.gov.
Table 1—List of Title V permits incorporating the Requirements of the August 31, 2022, Federal Implementation Plan
| Source name | Title V permit No. | County | Permit effective date |
|---|---|---|---|
| Conemaugh | 32-0059 | Indiana | March 14, 2024. |
| Homer City | 32-00055 | Indiana | March 14, 2024. |
| Keystone | 03-00027 | Armstrong | March 14, 2024. |
| Montour | 47-00001 | Montour | March 14, 2024. |
Table 2—Citations to Relevant Portions of the FIP
| Topic | Citation in FIP FRN |
|---|---|
| Concerns about Fouling | 87 FR 53381 at 53390 second column. |
| No specific setpoint is required, the 30-day average provides flexibility in meeting the limit | 87 FR 53381 at 53390 third column. |
| The increase in ammonium bisuflate salt formation in colder temps | 87 FR 53381 at 53395 second column. |
| EPA used weighted averages and the third best to provide flexibility for start-up events | 87 FR 53381 at 53396 second column and third column. |
| Name of source | Permit No. | County | State effective date | EPA approval date | Additional explanation/§ 52.2063 citation |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| * * * * * * * | |||||
| Keystone Conemaugh Proj LLC/Conemaugh Station | Title V permit 32-00059 | Indiana | 3/14/2024 | 11/6/2024, [INSERT FIRST PAGE OF FR CITATION] | NO X RACT emission limits and associated compliance parameters in unredacted portions of the Title V permit provided to EPA on April 10, 2024. Permit name updated in this table. See also 52.2064(m)(1). |
| * * * * * * * | |||||
| Homer City Gen LP/Center TWP | 32-00055 | Indiana | 3/14/2024 | 11/6/2024, [INSERT FIRST PAGE OF FR CITATION] | NO X RACT emission limits and associated compliance parameters in unredacted portions of the Title V permit provided to EPA on April 10, 2024. Permit name updated in this table. See also 52.2064(m)(2). |
| * * * * * * * |