	ENVIRONMENTAL PROTECTION AGENCY

	40 CFR Part 52

	[EPA-R03-OAR-2007-1001; FRL-        ] 

Approval and Promulgation of Air Quality Implementation Plans; Maryland;
NOx and SO2 Emissions Limitations for Fifteen Coal-Fired Electric
Generating Units

AGENCY:  Environmental Protection Agency (EPA).

ACTION:  Proposed rule.

SUMMARY: EPA is proposing to approve a State Implementation Plan (SIP)
revision submitted by the Maryland Department of the Environment (MDE).
This revision pertains to regulations for emission limitations at 15
Maryland power plants.  The State requested that regulations
establishing statewide tonnage caps for emissions of NOx and SO2 from 15
coal-fired electric generating units in Maryland be approved.  These
regulations also establish monitoring and reporting requirements, and
authorize the MDE to reduce or waive penalties for non-compliance under
certain conditions and provide for judicial review of decisions by the
MDE to grant a reduction or waiver of penalties.  This action is being
taken under the Clean Air Act (CAA). 

DATES: Written comments must be received on or before [insert date 30
days from date of publication].  

ADDRESSES:  Submit your comments, identified by Docket ID Number
EPA-R03-OAR-2007-1001, by one of the following methods:

 www.regulations.gov.  Follow the on-line instructions for submitting
comments.

     B.    E-mail:    HYPERLINK "mailto:fernandez.cristina@epa.gov" 
fernandez.cristina@epa.gov 

     C.    Mail:   EPA- R03-OAR-2007-1001, Cristina Fernandez, Branch
Chief, Air Quality Planning Branch, Mailcode 3AP21, U.S. Environmental
Protection Agency, Region III, 1650 Arch Street, Philadelphia,
Pennsylvania 19103.

     D.   Hand Delivery: At the previously-listed EPA Region III
address.  Such deliveries are only accepted during the Docket(s normal
hours of operation, and special arrangements should be made for
deliveries of boxed information.

Instructions:  Direct your comments to Docket ID No.
EPA-R03-OAR-2007-1001.  EPA's policy is that all comments received will
be included in the public docket without change, and may be made
available online at www.regulations.gov, including any personal
information provided, unless the comment includes information claimed to
be Confidential Business Information (CBI) or other information whose
disclosure is restricted by statute. Do not submit information that you
consider to be CBI or otherwise protected through www.regulations.gov or
e-mail.  The www.regulations.gov website is an (anonymous access(
system, which means EPA will not know your identity or contact
information unless you provide it in the body of your comment.  If you
send an e-mail comment directly to EPA without going through 
www.regulations.gov, your e-mail address will be automatically captured
and included as part of the comment that is placed in the public docket
and made available on the Internet.  If you submit an electronic
comment, EPA recommends that you include your name and other contact
information in the body of your comment and with any disk or CD-ROM you
submit.  If EPA cannot read your comment due to technical difficulties
and cannot contact you for clarification, EPA may not be able to
consider your comment.  Electronic files should avoid the use of special
characters, any form of encryption, and be free of any defects or
viruses.

Docket:  All documents in the electronic docket are listed in the
www.regulations.gov index. Although listed in the index, some
information is not publicly available, i.e., 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 either electronically in www.regulations.gov or
in hard copy during normal business hours at the Air Protection
Division, U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, Region III, 1650 Arch
Street, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania 19103. Copies of the State submittal
are available at Maryland Department of the Environment, 1800 Washington
Boulevard, Suite 705, Baltimore, Maryland, 21230.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Irene Shandruk, (215) 814-2166, or by
e-mail at shandruk.irene@epa.gov.

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:  On July 12, 2007, the Maryland Department of
the Environment (MDE) submitted a revision to its State Implementation
Plan (SIP) for approval of emission limitations and related requirements
for nitrogen oxides (NOx) and sulfur dioxide (SO2) at 15 coal-fired
electric generating units in Maryland.  

I.    Background 

On April 6, 2006, Maryland signed into law the Healthy Air Act (Ch. 23,
Acts of 2006), which requires MDE to adopt certain regulations.  One
such requirement under the Act is to establish caps on the amount of NOx
and SO2 emissions that certain affected facilities can emit.  These
proposed regulations are more stringent than the Clean Air Interstate
Rule (CAIR), which was published by EPA on May 12, 2005 (70 FR 25162).  

In the CAIR rule, EPA determined that 28 States and the District of
Columbia contribute significantly to nonattainment and interfere with
maintenance of the NAAQS for fine particles (PM2.5) and /or 8-hour ozone
in downwind States in the eastern part of the country.  As a result, EPA
required those upwind States to revise their State Implementation Plans
(SIPs) to include control measures that reduce emissions of SO2, which
is a precursor to PM2.5 formation, and/or NOX, which is a precursor to
both ozone and PM2.5 formation.  Under CAIR, States may implement these
reduction requirements by participating in the EPA-administered
cap-and-trade programs or by adopting any other control measures. 

Maryland’s proposed regulations are more restrictive than the CAIR
rules in that they establish specific emission limitations for certain
Maryland sources and, unlike the CAIR rules, do not permit surrender of
allowances to achieve compliance.  While these regulations modify some
of the flexibility of CAIR by requiring the installation of on-site
pollution controls at the 15 Maryland power plants, they ensure that
appropriate local emissions reductions will occur where they are needed
in order to attain the NAAQS by 2010.

II.   Summary of SIP Revision

The MDE is requesting that regulations (under COMAR 26.11.27)
establishing tonnage caps for emissions of NOx and SO2 from 15
coal-fired electric generating units (EGUs) in Maryland be approved. 
The purpose of these regulations is to help bring Maryland into
attainment with the NAAQS for ozone and fine particulate matter by the
2010 attainment deadline.  The 15 affected units are as follows:

ELECTRIC GENERATING UNIT	JURISDICTION

Constellation Energy Group System

	Brandon Shores 1 & 2	Anne Arundel County

H. A. Wagner 2 & 3	Anne Arundel County

C. P. Crane 1 & 2	Baltimore County

Mirant System

	Chalk Point 1 & 2	Prince George’s County

Dickerson 1, 2, & 3	Montgomery County

Morgantown 1 & 2	Charles County

Allegheny Energy

	R. Paul Smith 3 & 4	Washington County



III.   Proposed Action

Maryland has met the requirements for submitting a SIP revision for
limiting NOx and SO2 emissions from certain Maryland power plants.  EPA
is proposing to approve the Maryland SIP revision for limiting NOx and
SO2 emissions at 15 coal-fired EGUs, which was submitted on July 12,
2007.  EPA is soliciting public comments on the issues discussed in this
document.  These comments will be considered before taking final action.


IV.   Statutory and Executive Order Reviews   

Under Executive Order 12866 (58 FR 51735, October 4, 1993), this
proposed action is not a "significant regulatory action" and therefore
is not subject to review by the Office of 

  Management and Budget.  For this reason, this action is also not
subject to Executive Order 13211, "Actions Concerning Regulations That
Significantly Affect Energy Supply, Distribution, or Use"  (66 Fed. Reg.
28355 (May 22, 2001)).  This action merely proposes to approve state law
as meeting Federal requirements and imposes no additional requirements
beyond those imposed by state law.  Accordingly, the Administrator
certifies that this proposed rule will not have a significant economic
impact on a substantial number of small entities under the Regulatory
Flexibility Act (5 U.S.C. 601 et seq.).   Because this rule proposes to
approve pre-existing requirements under state law and does not impose
any additional enforceable duty beyond that required by state law, it
does not contain any unfunded mandate or significantly or uniquely
affect small governments, as described in the Unfunded Mandates Reform
Act of 1995 (Public Law 104-4).  This proposed rule also does not have a
substantial direct effect on one or more Indian tribes, on the
relationship between the Federal Government and Indian tribes, or on the
distribution of power and responsibilities between the Federal
Government and Indian tribes, as specified by Executive Order 13175 (65
FR 67249, November 9, 2000), nor will it have substantial direct effects
on the States, on the relationship between the national government and
the States, or on the distribution of power and responsibilities among
the various levels of government, as specified in Executive Order 13132
(64 FR 43255, August 10, 1999), because it merely proposes to approve a
state rule implementing a Federal requirement, and does not alter the
relationship or the distribution of power and responsibilities
established in the CAA.  This proposed rule also is not subject to
Executive Order 13045 (62 FR 19885, April 23, 1997), because it approves
a state rule implementing a Federal standard.

In reviewing SIP submissions, EPA(s role is to approve state choices,
provided that they meet the criteria of the CAA.  In this context, in
the absence of a prior existing requirement for the State to use
voluntary consensus standards (VCS), EPA has no authority to disapprove
a SIP submission for failure to use VCS.  It would thus be inconsistent
with applicable law for EPA, when it reviews a SIP submission, to use
VCS in place of a SIP submission that otherwise satisfies the provisions
of the CAA.  Thus, the requirements of section 12(d) of the National
Technology Transfer and Advancement Act of 1995 (15 U.S.C. 272 note) do
not apply.  As required by section 3 of Executive Order 12988 (61 FR
4729, February 7, 1996), in issuing this proposed rule, EPA has taken
the necessary steps to eliminate drafting errors and ambiguity, minimize
potential litigation, and provide a clear legal standard for affected
conduct.  EPA has complied with Executive Order 12630 (53 FR 8859, March
15, 1988) by examining the takings implications of the rule in
accordance with the (Attorney General(s Supplemental Guidelines for the
Evaluation of Risk and Avoidance of Unanticipated Takings( issued under
the executive order.  This action proposing approval of Maryland’s SIP
revision concerning emission limitations for NOx and SO2 at 15
coal-fired EGUs does not impose an information collection burden under
the provisions of the Paperwork Reduction Act of 1995 (44 U.S.C. 3501 et
seq.).

List of Subjects in 40 CFR Part 52  

Environmental protection, Air pollution control, Nitrogen dioxide,
Reporting and recordkeeping requirements, Sulfur oxides. 



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

____December 27, 2007_______          	 	___________/s/_________________

Dated:                                                     	 	William T.
Wisniewski,

                                                                 	
Acting Regional Administrator,

                                                                		Region
III.

	

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