                 UNITED STATES ENVIRONMENTAL PROTECTION AGENCY
                            WASHINGTON, D.C. 20460



                                     Date


	OFFICE OF
                                                                            AIR AND RADIATION
MEMORANDUM

SUBJECT:	Proposed Rules: National Emission Standards for Hazardous Air Pollutants: Integrated Iron and Steel Manufacturing Facilities Technology Review (Tier 3; SAN 5919.9; RIN 2060-AV82)  -  ACTION MEMORANDUM

FROM:	Joseph Goffman
		Principle Deputy Administrator (6101A)

THRU:	Office of Policy (1803A)
            Office of Executive Secretariat (1105A)  
            
TO:	Michael S. Regan
            Administrator (1101A)
	
PURPOSE
Attached for your signature are proposed amendments to the National Emission Standards for Hazardous Air Pollutants (NESHAP) for Integrated Iron and Steel Manufacturing Facilities, as required by the Clean Air Act (CAA) section 112(d)(6). 

DEADLINE
The final rule for the Integrated Iron and Steel NESHAP technology review to address remaining unregulated HAP (also referred to as LEAN gaps) is subject to a court-ordered deadline of October 26, 2023. 

OVERVIEW
In this action, the EPA is proposing  several new or revised standards to: (1) fulfill the EPA's statutory obligations pursuant to CAA section 112(d)(6) and the LEAN court decision; and (2) improve the emissions standards for this source category to provide additional protection of the environment and public health for communities near these facilities. This proposed rule would reduce HAP metals by about 113 tpy and approximately 816 tpy of PM2.5.

The original NESHAP was promulgated in 2003 and EPA completed the required risk review pursuant to CAA section 112(f) and part of the section 112(d)(6) technology review on July 13, 2020. The purpose of this current action is to complete the remaining requirements of the technology review, including propose new standards for currently unregulated hazardous air pollutants (HAP) as mandated by the court decision known as the Louisiana Environmental Action Network v. EPA, 955 F.3d 1088 (D.C. Cir. 2020) ("LEAN"). The current court order does not require another risk review.

The Integrated Iron and Steel (II&S) source category produces steel from iron ore pellets, coke, metal scrap and other raw materials using furnaces and other processes. There are nine II&S Manufacturing facilities (one is idle), owned by two entities. The EPA set maximum achievable control technology (MACT) standards for the Integrated Iron and Steel Manufacturing Facilities major source category in 2003 under 40 CFR part 63 subpart FFFFF, which included particulate matter (PM) and opacity limits (as surrogates for particulate HAP such as lead, arsenic, chromium) for blast furnaces (BFs), basic oxygen furnaces (BOFs) and sinter plants. The 2003 rule also included a limit for volatile organic compounds (VOCs) for sinter plants. Subsequently, the technology review completed in the July 2020, along with completing the risk review and a partial technology review, EPA promulgated a new standard for mercury (Hg) from BOFs, which had previously been an unregulated HAP. 

Pursuant to the LEAN decision we are proposing new emissions standards for several currently unregulated HAP or sources of HAP. Furthermore, in this action, as part of our technology review, we are proposing revised and improved standards for a few currently regulated HAP or sources of HAP.
  
Technology Review. For the technology review, we evaluated the developments in practices, processes, and control technologies to assess whether any further significant and cost-effective reduction in emissions could be achieved. Through this review, we have identified improvements that we are proposing for current standards for this source category to provide additional protection of the environment and public health for communities near these facilities, as described in the following three paragraphs.

First, we are proposing to revise the current 20 percent opacity limit to a more stringent 5 percent opacity limit for the BOF shop and BF casthouse fugitive HAP metal emissions. Additionally, we are proposing specific work practice standards, such as optimizing positioning of hoods and using higher draft velocities to capture more fugitives for the BOF shop. The costs for these proposed updates for the BOF and BF standards are estimated to be $1.46M per year, and will achieve an estimated 55 tons per year (tpy) reduction in HAP metals.

Second, we are addressing a previously unresolved petition for reconsideration of standards for dioxins and furans (D/F) and polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs) from sinter plants for which EPA requested a voluntary remand in 2010. In this action, we are proposing specific MACT limits for D/F and PAHs for sinter plants to replace the VOC surrogate approach EPA relied on since 2005. We estimate all 3 facilities with sinter plants will be able to meet the MACT limits with no additional controls, however there will be new costs for compliance testing of $50-75K per facility, once every 5 years.

Third, after analyzing fenceline monitoring data for chromium (Cr) conducted at 4 facilities in response to a 2022 CAA section 114 information request, we concluded that further monitoring of Cr under the NESHAP was warranted. Therefore, we are proposing a fenceline monitoring requirement for Cr, including a requirement that if a monitor exceeds a proposed Cr action level, the facility will need to conduct a root cause analysis and take corrective action to lower emissions. The total costs for this monitoring are estimated to be $164,000 in annual costs per facility, and $1.3M/yr for the source category. 

As a response to the LEAN decision, we are proposing new emissions limits based on MACT for the following five currently unregulated HAP from sinter plants: carbonyl sulfide (COS), carbon disulfide (CS2), mercury (Hg), hydrochloric acid (HCl), and hydrogen fluoride (HF). We are also proposing new emissions limits for three unregulated pollutants for BFs and BOFs: total hydrocarbons (THC), HCl, and D/F. We estimate that all facilities will be able to comply with these new emissions limits for sinter plants, BFs and BOFs with their current controls, therefore the only costs will be for compliance testing, recordkeeping, and reporting.

We are also proposing new MACT standards, in the form of opacity limits and work practice (WP) standards, for five unregulated sources of fugitive emissions: Unplanned Bleeder Valve Openings (also known as "slips"); Planned Bleeder Valve Openings; Slag Pits; Beaching; and Bell Leaks.  The total costs for these standards would be approximately $1.49M per year, achieving roughly 58 tpy reduction in HAP metals.
 
ANTICIPATED PUBLIC AND STAKEHOLDER RESPONSE
We expect industry will have some adverse comments on the proposed standards for opacity limits and work practices based on previous conversations. We expect environmental organizations (i.e., EarthJustice and Sierra Club) will generally be satisfied with our proposed standards for this rulemaking. 

INTERNAL DEVELOPMENT AND REVIEW PROCESS
These proposed rules were developed under the Tier 3 rulemaking process and coordinated with OGC, OP, ORD and EPA Region 5. All internal comments have been considered and changes, where appropriate, have been incorporated. OGC concurred with this action on March 3, 2023.

INTERAGENCY REVIEW
Under Executive Order 12866, OMB determined this proposed rule to be a "significant" regulatory action, and, therefore, we are submitting the rule to undergo interagency review.

IMPACTS
For the recommended options for fugitives, the estimated capital costs are $4.9M, and annualized costs are $2.9M per year for source category and will reduce 113 tpy HAP metals and 816 tpy PM2.5. We estimate the PM2.5 reductions will result in $320M to $400M in monetized benefits. Compliance testing for all the new standards will be about $1.7M once every 5 years for the category. These annualized costs could decrease after facilities complete two years of fenceline monitoring. The overall economic impacts of the expected compliance costs for this proposal are likely to be small. Additionally, this source category has no small businesses. 

Our demographic analysis concludes that for populations within 5 kilometers of the Iron and Steel Facilities, the percent of the population that is African American is more than two times the national average (27 percent versus 12 percent). In addition, the percentage of the population that is living below the poverty level (29 percent) and living below two times the poverty level (52 percent) is well above the national average (13 percent and 29 percent, respectively). The proposed changes will have beneficial effects on air quality and public health for these populations with EJ concerns exposed to emissions from the iron and steel facilities.

STAKEHOLDER INVOLVEMENT
We met with Earth Justice/Sierra Club and industry to discuss the section 114 requests and our plans for this action. We have also had a few follow-up meetings with industry representatives to discuss specific technical issues.
PEER REVIEW
There were no influential or highly influential products, as defined by the agency's Peer Review Handbook, supporting the action for either the review of the NSPS nor the area source NESHAP.

RECOMMENDATION
OAR recommends that you sign the attached proposed action for publication in the Federal Register.

STAKEHOLDER INVOLVEMENT
No additional stakeholder outreach, beyond notice and comment, was performed. During the public comment period, state agencies and industry commented that additional clarity provided by the proposed rule revisions were appropriate.

PEER REVIEW
There were no influential or highly influential products supporting this action as defined by the agency's Peer Review Handbook.

RECOMMENDATION
I recommend that you sign the attached final rule for publication in the Federal Register.

Attachment


